Volvocaceae

Portrait of Pandorina. Colonial flagellate with bright green chloroplasts. Usually 8-16 cells each with 2 equal-length flagella all enclosed within clear gelatinous envelope. From freshwater pond near Boise, Idaho. Brightfield.

Pandorina morum is rare in Lake Kinneret. This specimen was collected at the shore by the Kinneret Limnological Laboratory in March 2006.

Volvox (vol-vox) is the iconic colonial volvocid - motile green alga. In this case hundred of cells are embedded in a sphere of common mucus. Each individual cell is tiny, linked to others by fine threads of cytoplasm, has two flagella, and a cup-shaped chloroplast - a bit like a Chlamydomonas cell. There are a number of related genera which form colonies using mucus as a common matrix, but they differ in the numbers of cells involved, how tightly packed they are, and the shape of the colony. Differential interference contrast.

Volvox (vol-vox) is the iconic colonial volvocid - motile green alga. In this case hundred of cells are embedded in a sphere of common mucus. Each individual cell is tiny, linked to others by fine threads of cytoplasm, has two flagella, and a cup-shaped chloroplast - a bit like a Chlamydomonas cell. There are a number of related genera which form colonies using mucus as a common matrix, but they differ in the numbers of cells involved, how tightly packed they are, and the shape of the colony. This is a detail of the surface of the colony, showing the flagella projecting from beyond the edge of the mucus. Differential interference contrast.

Volvox (vol-vox) is the iconic colonial volvocid - motile green alga. In this case hundred of cells are embedded in a sphere of common mucus. Each individual cell is tiny, linked to others by fine threads of cytoplasm, has two flagella, and a cup-shaped chloroplast - a bit like a Chlamydomonas cell. There are a number of related genera which form colonies using mucus as a common matrix, but they differ in the numbers of cells involved, how tightly packed they are, and the shape of the colony. This picture is a detail of the surface showing the chloroplasts within individual cells and showing the links among cells. Differential interference contrast.

Volvox (vol-vox) is the iconic colonial volvocid - motile green alga. In this case hundred of cells are embedded in a sphere of common mucus. Each individual cell is tiny, linked to others by fine threads of cytoplasm, has two flagella, and a cup-shaped chloroplast - a bit like a Chlamydomonas cell. There are a number of related genera which form colonies using mucus as a common matrix, but they differ in the numbers of cells involved, how tightly packed they are, and the shape of the colony. This picture is of several colonies, the two lower ones contain a number of smaller daughter colonies within. Differential interference contrast.

Dark ground image of colony, with daughter colonies enclosed within.

In vivo portrait of the volvocid flagellate,  Volvulina steinii Playfair,1915. Collected from a temporary rainwater puddle on a grass lawn in Boise, Idaho 43°36'49.03"" N 116° 13' 23.77"" W elev. 2674 ft.March 2006.Brightfield.

Portartit of the volvocid flagellate, Volvulina steinii Playfair,1915. The cells are hemispherical with the flattened face of each toward the exterior in contact with the thin investing gelatinous envelope.The inner limit of the envelope is visible here. the thickness of the investing layer of the gelatinous envelope is indicated here by debris adhering to its exterior surface.Each of the 16 cells in the colony bears two equal-length flagella (seen here in the cell at 12 o'clock). Only cells at the ""anterior"" end of the colony have eyespots. each cell has two contractile vacuoles (seen here in the cell at 12 o'clock.Collected from a temporary rainwater puddle on a grass lawn in Boise, Idaho  In vivo portrait of the volvocid flagellate,   43°36'49.03"" N 116° 13' 23.77"" W elev. 2674 ft. elev. 2674 ft.  March 2006.  DIC.

In vivo portartit of slightly compressed volvocid flagellate, Volvulina steinii Playfair,1915 showing the two contractile vacuoles. The single nucleus of several cells is visible. Only the ""anterior"" cells of the colony have red eyespots. Collected from a temporary rainwater puddle on a grass lawn in Boise, Idaho.  43°36'49.03"" N 116° 13' 23.77"" W elev. 2674 ft. March 2006.  DIC.    

In vivo surface view of the volvocid flagellate, Volvulina steinii Playfair,1915. Collected from a temporary rainwater puddle on a grass lawn in Boise, Idaho 43° 36' 49.03"" N 116° 13' 23.77"" W elev. 2674 ft. March 2006. DIC.