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Phaeothamniophyceae

J. Craig Bailey
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taxon links [down<--]Stramenopiles Interpreting the tree
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Containing group: Stramenopiles

Introduction

Included genera: Chrysapion, Chrysoclonium, Chrysodictyon, Phaeobotrys, Phaeogloea, Phaeoschizochlamys, Phaeothamnion, Sphaeridiothrix, Selenophaea, Stichogloea, Tetrachrysis, Tetrapion, Tetrasporopsis.

Characteristics

Taxonomic History and Phylogeny

The Phaeothamniophyceae was established by Bailey et al. (1998) and includes organisms once classified in the Chrysophyceae or Xanthophyceae.  At this time the class includes 13 genera and 26 specific or subspecific taxa (varieties).  The class was originally erected based on ultrastructural and/or DNA sequence data for three principal taxa: Phaeoschizochlamys mucosa, Phaeothamnion confervicola, and Stichogloea doederleinii.  Ultrastructural observations of Phaeobotrys and Tetrasporopsis have also been made.  These three species form a monophyletic group that is not closely related to the chrysophytes or synurophytes.  Instead, Phaeoschizochlamys, Phaeothamnion and Stichogloea are most closely related to photosynthetic stramenopiles placed in the classes Phaeophyceae and Xanthophyceae. 

The remaining 10 genera assigned to the class have been placed in the class with uncertainty.  Comparative data for these phaeothamniophytes is extraordinarily limited because they are not available in culture.  In fact, most have not been mentioned in the literature since they were originally described.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Phaeothamnion confervicola
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Identified By J.C. Bailey
Copyright © 2010 J. Craig Bailey
Scientific Name Stichogloea doederleinii
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Copyright © 2010 J. Craig Bailey
About This Page

J. Craig Bailey
University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to J. Craig Bailey at

All Rights Reserved.

Citing this page:

Bailey, J. Craig. 2010. Phaeothamniophyceae. Version 24 January 2010 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Phaeothamniophyceae/141578/2010.01.24 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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This page is a Tree of Life Branch Page.

Each ToL branch page provides a synopsis of the characteristics of a group of organisms representing a branch of the Tree of Life. The major distinction between a branch and a leaf of the Tree of Life is that each branch can be further subdivided into descendent branches, that is, subgroups representing distinct genetic lineages.

For a more detailed explanation of the different ToL page types, have a look at the Structure of the Tree of Life page.

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