Deuterocharacium Petrý, 1969

Holotype species: Deuterocharacium polyplastidicum Petrý-Hesse

Description: Solitary, cylindrical to ovate cells attached to substratum with mucilaginous basal pad or short pedicel. At upper end cells rounded to pointed. Cells 30-50 x 6-12 &m with smooth cell walls. Cells uninucleate?; numerous parietal, discoid to plate-like chloroplasts per cell; pyrenoids and stigma absent. Bourrelly (1972) states that Deuterocharacium is multinucleate, however, this may be prior to sporogenesis. Asexual reproduction by biflagellate zoospores; 32-128 spores per sporangium, released by tear in lateral wall. Zoospores with anterior contractile vacuoles, single parietal band shaped chloroplast with pyrenoid. After swimming period, spores attach by anterior end. Sexual reproduction unknown. Genus attached to other algae or detritus in freshwater; reported only from Austria and Czechoslovakia. Deuterocharacium separated from Characium by the absence of a pyrenoid, and from Pseudochlorothecium by the absence of autospores and by the lack of a sporulation vesicle. Bourrelly (1972), considered Deuterocharacium and Pseudochlorothecium synonymous. Species distinguished based on differences in cell size and shape. Genus assigned by Ettl and Komárek (1982) to new family and order Rhopalosolenaceae, Protosiphonales, however, this taxonomy not accepted by subsequent authors.

Information contributed by: D. Garbary and T. Kalina. The most recent alteration to this page was made on 2004-09-17 by Robert Wilkes.

Taxonomic status: This name is of an entity that is currently accepted taxonomically.

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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Some of the descriptions included in AlgaeBase were originally from the unpublished Encyclopedia of Algal Genera, organised in the 1990s by Dr Bruce Parker on behalf of the Phycological Society of America (PSA) and intended to be published in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.

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Citing AlgaeBase
Cite this record as:
Robert Wilkes in Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 17 September 2004. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. https://www.algaebase.org; searched on 25 April 2024