Furcilla Stokes, 1890
Holotype species: Furcilla lobosa A.Stokes
Original publication and holotype designation: Stokes, A.C. (1890). Notices of New Fresh-Water Infusoria. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 28(132): 74-80, 25 figures.
Request PDFDescription: Unicellular thalli essentially spherical but with a truncated, oval, or bilobed posterior. Two anterior isokont flagella. Papilla present, but often compressed. Stigma present or absent depending on the species. Chloroplast cup-shaped and frequently pale-green to nearly colorless. Pyrenoids absent in field material but present in cultured material. Two anterior, contractile vacuoles present. Starch grains present either scattered or associated with pyrenoid. Asexual reproduction by either direct division of cells or through the production of zoospores within a thin parental envelope, which some interpret as a cell wall. Aplanospores have been reported. Sexual reproduction is isogamous. Upon germination of the zygote, four motile cells are released into a vesicle derived from the zygote. Motile cells are released following rupture of the vesicle.
Information contributed by: M. Buchheim. The most recent alteration to this page was made on 2024-11-27 by M.D. Guiry.
Taxonomic status: This name is of an entity that is currently accepted taxonomically.
Gender: This genus name is currently treated as feminine.
Most recent taxonomic treatment adopted: Pentecost, A. (2002). Order Volvocales. In: The Freshwater Algal Flora of the British Isles. An identification guide to freshwater and terrestrial algae. (John, D.M., Whitton, B.A. & Brook, A.J. Eds), pp. 303-327. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Comments: Furcilla , a freshwater flagellate, has been collected from continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Despite the presence of a chloroplast, Furcilla is generally regarded as a mixotrophic to heterotrophic (saprobic) organism. Although no ultrastructural, molecular or biochemical data are currently available, Belcher has conducted light and electron microscopical studies of one member of the genus (F. stigmatophora). Ettl transfers several species of Furcilla, including F. stigmatophora, to the genus Selenochloris
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Some of the descriptions included in AlgaeBase were originally from the unpublished Encyclopedia of Algal Genera,
organised in the 1990s by Dr Bruce Parker on behalf of the Phycological Society of America (PSA)
and intended to be published in CD format.
These AlgaeBase descriptions are now being continually updated, and each current contributor is identified above.
The PSA and AlgaeBase warmly acknowledge the generosity of all past and present contributors and particularly the work of Dr Parker.
Descriptions of chrysophyte genera were subsequently published in J. Kristiansen & H.R. Preisig (eds.). 2001. Encyclopedia of Chrysophyte Genera. Bibliotheca Phycologica 110: 1-260.
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Citing AlgaeBase
Cite this record as:
M.D. Guiry in Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 27 November 2024. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. https://www.algaebase.org; searched on 04 December 2024
