Portrait

Description:

Portrait (lateral view) of the Prasinophyte, Nephroselmis olivacea (Stein, 1878). Cell outline is reniform. Strongly laterally compressed. Two unequal flagella insert at an invagination in midbody. The shorter flagellum is directed anteriorly during swimming, the longer trailing. Single cup-shaped chloroplast with pyrenoid; eyespot lies on the chloroplast in front of the short flagellum. Freshwater species with a contractile vacuole. The cytoplasm contains refractile particles of starch storage compounds. Cells covered with up to 7 types of scales seen by electron microscopy. The flagella are covered by a complex arrangement of heteromorphic scales. Collected from freshwater pond near Boise, Idaho July 2004. DIC optics.