GeezerVison

Pteromonas
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Supergroup:	Archaeplastida
Clade:	Viridiplantae
Division:	Chlorophyta
Class:	Chlorophyceae
Order:	Chlamydomonadales
Family:	Phacotaceae
Genus:	Pteromonas Seligo
Type species
Pteromonas aculeata Seligo[1]
Species
Pteromonas aculeata Pteromonas angulosa Pteromonas golenkiniana Pteromonas protracta

Pteromonas is a genus of green algae in the family Phacotaceae.^[2] It has a cosmopolitan distribution,^[1] and mainly occurs in nutrient-rich freshwaters.^[3]

Pteromonas is a unicellular, motile organism with two flagella; the protoplast of the cell is contained in a transparent,^[4] flattened shell called a lorica. The two flagella emerge from separate openings in the anterior of the lorica. The lorica consists of two equal parts pressed together at their margins, forming a keel. The lorica is variously shaped, and may be undulate or spiny. The protoplast is pyriform, ovoid or globose and compressed. Cells contain a cup-shaped chloroplast with one or more pyrenoids and usually an stigma. Two contractile vacuoles are present at the base of the flagella. ^[1]

Asexual reproduction involves the division of the protoplast into two or four daughter cells, which are released when the two halves of the lorica separate. Sexual reproduction is isogamous; the two gametes fuse and develop into a globose zygote with a smooth cell wall.^[1]

Species are distinguished based on the general morphology (size, shape and placement of "wings") of the lorica, and number and position of pyrenoids.^[1]