Trichodiscus Welsford, 1912: 241
Classification:
Empire Eukaryota
Kingdom Plantae
Phylum Chlorophyta
Class Chlorophyceae
Order Chaetophorales
Family Chaetophoraceae
Holotype species: Trichodiscus elegans Welsford
Original publication and holotype designation:Welsford, E.J. (1912). The morphology of Trichodiscus elegans, gen. et sp. nov. Annals of Botany 26: 239-243.
Taxonomic status: currently recognized as a distinct genus.
Description: Plants discoid and cushion-like, heterotrichous, consisting of branched, uniseriate filaments. Prostrate filaments radiating, united to form a central pseudoparenchymatous disc and free at margin. Short erect filaments and colourless (above base) multicellular hairs arise from centre of thallus. Cells uninucleate, with lobed, parietal chloroplast and pyrenoid. Asexual reproduction by zoospores and akinetes. Zoospores biflagellate, produced in cells from central part of thallus. Cells round up to form akinetes. Sexual reproduction unknown. Epiphytic on the water fern Azolla where its discoid thallus reaches a few cms in diameter. Reported from England, believed to be present in USA.
Numbers of names and species: There is only one species or infraspecific name in the database at present, which has been flagged as currently accepted taxonomically.
Names: ('C' indicates a name that is currently accepted taxonomically; 'S' a homotypic or heterotypic synonym; 'U' indicates a name of uncertain taxonomic status, but which has been subjected to some verification nomenclaturally; 'P' indicates a preliminary AlgaeBase entry that has not been subjected to any kind of verification. For more information on a species click on it to activate a link to the Species database):
Trichodiscus elegans Welsford C - type
Contributors
Some of the descriptions included in AlgaeBase were originally from the unpublished Encyclopedia of Algal Genera,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.
Linking to this page: http://www.algaebase.org/search/genus/detail/?genus_id=44287
Citing AlgaeBase
Cite this record as:
Michael Guiry in Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 2013. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org; searched on 24 May 2013.
Algaebase taxon LSID: urn:lsid:algaebase.org:taxname:6502
