Botryococcus is a genus of green algae. The cells form an irregularly shaped aggregate. Thin filaments connect the cells. The cell body is ovoid, 6 to 10 μm long, and 3 to 6 μm wide. Fossils of the genus are known since Precambrian times, and form the single largest biological contributor to crude oil, and are a major component of oil shales.[2]
Appears as colonies of cells irregularly arranges cells in a folded mucilage. Cells spherical or oval, chloroplast net-like with a single pyrenoid.[4]
Ecology
The algae is frequently found in plankton in waters with differing characteristics and a wide geographic distribution. It is an important component of algal blooms and the discoloration of water.[5] It is known to reproduce asexually but zoospores and sexual reproduction are unknown.[1]
^Kützing, Friedrich Traugott (1849). Species Algarum. Brockhaus. p. 892.
^Guiry, M.D., John, D.M., Rindi, F. and McCarthy, T.K (Ed) 2007. New Survey of Clare Island Volume 6: The Freshwater and Terrestrial Algae. Royal Irish Academy. ISBN<978-1-904890-31-7