Lectotype species: Spirulina major Kützing ex Gomont
Original publication:Gomont, M. (1892 '1893'). Monographie des Oscillariées (Nostocacées Homocystées). Deuxième partie. - Lyngbyées. Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Botanique, Série 7 16: 91-264, pls 1-7.
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Type designated in Geitler, L. (1942). Schizophyta: Klasse Schizophyceae. In: Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien, Sweite Auflage. (Engler, A. & Prantl, K. Eds) Vol.1b, pp. 1-232. Leipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann.
Taxonomic status: currently recognized as a distinct genus.
Gender: This genus name is currently treated as feminine.
Most recent taxonomic treatment adopted: Strunecký, O., Ivanova, A.P. & Mareš, J. (2022 '2023'). An updated classification of cyanobacterial orders and families based on phylogenomic and polyphasic analysis (Review). Journal of Phycology 59(1): 12-51.
Description: Filamentous; filaments unbranched, always without sheaths, rarely solitary (free floating), usually in clusters or in fine mats which are to macroscopically visible and covering the substrate, regularly screw-like coiled along the whole trichome length, with unchanged width of screws (very rarely is the spiral form eliminated); screws are very tight, touching one to another or with small spaces between them, trichomes:spirals width ratio being (2)-2.5-(4). Trichomes isopolar, 0.5-3(6?) _m wide, uniseriate, composed of cylindrical cells, unconstricted at the crosswalls which are usually not visible in the light microscope, not attenuated towards the ends, intensely motile (rotation). Cells without aerotopes and prominent granules, more or less isodiametric, less (?) or longer than wide, usually with homogeneous content, pale blue-green, olive-green or pinkish, with changeable PC:PE ratio, with asymmetrically localized thylakoids near the "outer" walls, with special perforation of the side walls (see Guglielmi and Cohen-Bazire 1982 compared to all species); end cells widely rounded, without thickened cell walls or calyptras. Heterocytes and akinetes absent. Cell division crosswise, perpendicular to the long axis of a trichome, daughter cells grow Å to the original size before the next division. All cells capable of division. Reproduction by fragmentation of trichomes into motile hormogonia without necridic cells. Several species are benthic or grow in metaphyton of freshwater biotopes, usually in not heavy artificially polluted waters, in detritus among water plants. Several species prefer thermal and mineral springs, "Sulphuretum" -communities, or halophilic biotopes (marine coastal and brackish waters).
Information contributed by: J. Komárek. The most recent alteration to this page was made on 3 Mar 2023 by M.D. Guiry.
Common names
(as Spirulina)
Aztec: Tecuitlatl ().
Numbers of names and species: There are 91 species names in the database at present.
Names: ('C' indicates a name that is accepted taxonomically; 'S' a homotypic or heterotypic synonym; 'U' indicates a name of uncertain taxonomic status, but which has been subjected to some verification nomenclaturally; 'P' indicates a preliminary AlgaeBase entry that has not been subjected to any kind of verification. For more information on a species click on it to activate a link to the Species database):
Click here to also show infraspecific names in the list below.
Spirulina abbreviata Lemmermann C
Spirulina adriatica Hansgirg C
Spirulina aeruginea H.F.Buell C
Spirulina agilis Kufferath C
Spirulina agilissima (Lagerheim) Kirchner S
Spirulina albida Kolkwitz C
Spirulina albida var. tenuior Pol. U
Spirulina allansonii Welsh C
Spirulina amethystina H.F.Buell S
C
Spirulina ardissonei Cohn ex Rabenhorst S
Spirulina argentina Frenguelli S
Spirulina attenuata Umezaki C
C
C
C
Spirulina breviarticulata var. anguiformis P.González S
Spirulina cabrerae P.González C
Spirulina caldaria f. pallida Elenkin C
Spirulina caldaria Tilden C
Spirulina caldaria var. magnifica J.J.Copeland S
Spirulina cavanillesiana P.González C
Spirulina compacta Perfiliev S
Spirulina condensata H.Welsh S
Spirulina conica Bharadwaja C
Spirulina corakiana Playfair C
Spirulina curta (Lemmermann) Geitler S
C
Spirulina duplex Wolle S
U
Spirulina flavovirens Wisłouch C
Spirulina funiformis (Vouk) J.De Toni S
Spirulina fusiformis Woronichin S
S
Spirulina geitleri G.De Toni S
Spirulina gessneri Schiller C
Spirulina gigantea Schmidle S
Spirulina gomontiana (Setchell) Geitler S
Spirulina gomontiana var. crassa A.B.Gupta S
Spirulina gomontii Gutwinski C
Spirulina gordiana P.González C
Spirulina gracilis Gruia C
Spirulina gracillima Rabenhorst U
Spirulina innatans H.Welsh C
Spirulina jenneri (Gomont) Geitler S
Spirulina jenneri f. breviarticulata Elenkin C
Spirulina jenneri f. crassior Elenkin S
Spirulina jenneri f. subconstricta Elenkin C
Spirulina jenneri f. subconstricto-breviarticulata Elenkin C
Spirulina jenneri f. subrecta Rabenhorst ex Elenkin S
Spirulina jenneri f. subrecto-breviarticulata Elenkin C
Spirulina jenneri f. subrecto-crassior Elenkin S
Spirulina jenneri f. tenuior (Hansgirg) Elenkin C
Spirulina jenneri f. vaginata Rabenhorst P
Spirulina jenneri f. vaginata Rabenhorst ex Elenkin C
Spirulina jenneri f. vagino-breviarticulata Elenkin C
Spirulina jenneri var. platensis Nordstedt S
Spirulina jenneri var. tenuior Hansgirg S
Spirulina labyrinthiformis Gomont C
Spirulina laxa G.M.Smith C
C
Spirulina laxissima f. major Desikachary S
Spirulina laxissima G.S.West S
Spirulina legitima Schiller C
Spirulina magnifica (J.J.Copeland) Anagnostidis C
S
Spirulina major Kützing ex Gomont C- type
Spirulina margaritae Frémy S
Spirulina mariae Margalef C
Spirulina massartii (Kufferath) Geitler S
S
Spirulina mediterranea K.N.Deckenbach U
Spirulina meneghiniana f. crassa Bharadwaja S
Spirulina meneghiniana f. fontinalis Schwabe S
Spirulina meneghiniana f. minor Hortobágyi S
Spirulina meneghiniana Zanardini ex Gomont C
Spirulina miniata Hauck S
Spirulina minima Würtz C
Spirulina mukdensis Noda C
Spirulina neumannii Schmidle S
Spirulina nodosa J.Schiller C
Spirulina nordstedtii Gomont C
C
S
Spirulina okensis (Meyer) Geitler S
Spirulina oscillariorides Turpin S
Spirulina platensis (Gomont) Geitler S
Spirulina platensis f. tenuior Elenkin C
C
Spirulina platensis var. non-constricta J.C.Banerji S
Spirulina platensis var. tenuis C.B.Rao S
C
U
Spirulina pseudovacuolata Utermöhl ex F.Koppe S
Spirulina regis L.Hoffmann C
Spirulina rhaphidioides Geitler S
Spirulina robusta H.Welsh C
C
Spirulina schroederi Koppe C
Spirulina setchellii (De Toni) De Toni S
Spirulina sigmoidea Schiller C
Spirulina socialis N.L.Gardner C
Spirulina solitaris Kützing U
Spirulina spirulinoides (Ghose) Geitler C
Spirulina spirulinoides f. tenuis R.N.Singh C
Spirulina stagnicola Drouet C
Spirulina subsalsa f. minor Compère C
Spirulina subsalsa f. oceanica Gomont S
Spirulina subsalsa f. versicolor (Cohn ex Gomont) Koster S
Spirulina subsalsa Oersted ex Gomont C
Spirulina subsalsa var. crassior Virieux S
Spirulina subsalsa var. oceanica (Gomont) Forti C
C
Spirulina subtilissima Kützing ex Gomont C
U
Spirulina subtilissima var. brevis Croasdale C
Spirulina subtilissima var. thermalis (Meneghini ex Kützing) Rabenhorst S
Spirulina supersalsa Schiller S
Spirulina tenerrima Kützing ex Gomont C
Spirulina tenuior (Lagerheim) Kirchner U
S
Spirulina tenuissima f. chilensis Schwabe C
Spirulina tenuissima f. compacta (Perfiliev) Elenkin S
Spirulina tenuissima f. crassior (Virieux) Elenkin S
Spirulina tenuissima f. salina (Wisłouch) Elenkin S
Spirulina tenuissima f. versicolor (Gomont) Kossinskaja S
Spirulina tenuissima Kützing ex De Toni S
Spirulina tenuissima var. crassior Virieux C
Spirulina tenuissima var. salina Wisłouch C
Spirulina thermalis Meneghini ex Kützing C
U
Spirulina turfosa Cramer U
Spirulina undulans Deckenbach U
Spirulina versicolor Cohn ex Gomont C
Spirulina versicolor var. laxa Gomont C
Spirulina weissii Drouet C
Spirulina zanardinii Maneghini ex Kützing U
Verification of data
Users are responsible for verifying the accuracy of information before use, as noted on the website Content page.
Contributors
Some of the descriptions included in AlgaeBase were originally from the unpublished Encyclopedia of Algal Genera, organised in the 1990s by Dr Bruce Parker on behalf of the Phycological Society of America (PSA) and intended to be published in CD format. These AlgaeBase descriptions are now being continually updated, and each current contributor is identified above. The PSA and AlgaeBase warmly acknowledge the generosity of all past and present contributors and particularly the work of Dr Parker.
Descriptions of chrysophyte genera were subsequently published in J. Kristiansen & H.R. Preisig (eds.). 2001. Encyclopedia of Chrysophyte Genera. Bibliotheca Phycologica 110: 1-260.
Created: 28 December 2000 by M.D. Guiry
Verified by: 03 March 2023 by M.D. Guiry
Linking to this page: http://admin.algaebase.org/search/genus/detail/?genus_id=43080
Citing AlgaeBase
Please cite this record as:
M.D. Guiry in Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 2025. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org; searched on 19 May 2025.
