Notes on two green plankton found in Bangladesh


Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 12(2): 97-99, 2005 (December) - Short communication 
 

NOTES ON TWO GREEN PLANKTON FOUND IN BANGLADESH 
 

A.K.M. NURUL ISLAM AND MD. ALMUJADDADE ALFASANE 
 

Department of Botany, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh 
 

Key words: Green planktonic algae, Chlorococcales, Bangladesh 
 
 The paper deals with two green plankton algae belonging to Chlorococcales, recently 
collected in Bangladesh. One of them was reported as Treubaria umbrina (Smith) Fott 
and Kov. by Islam and Alfasane (2001), and the other one, not  yet recorded for 
Bangladesh, looks somewhat like a member of Echinosphaerella Smith. The systematic 
position and nomenclature of the former taxon has become somewhat controversial and 
the latter is yet to be identified. These are now discussed below. 
1.  Pachycladella umbrina (Smith) Silva (Basionym: Pachycladon umbrinus Smith, 

G.M. 1924; Synonym: Treubaria umbrina (Smith) Fott and Kovacik 1975). (Figs. 1-4) 
 Silva (1970) changed the generic name Pachycladon as this name was preoccupied 
and renamed it as Pachycladella. Fott and Kovacik (1975) considered P. umbrinus under 
the genus Treubaria Bern., whereas Reymond et al. (1992) agreed to keep it under 
Pachycladella. Earlier, we have identified our material as Treubaria umbrina, which we 
think was not justified and now it needs correction. Smith (1950) while describing 
Pachycladon states that “this genus has considerable resemblance to Treubaria, it differs 
in shape of the cell, in nature of appendages and in the chloroplast”. The cells are 
spherical without a gelatinous envelop, the wall bears four stout appendages that are 
usually quadrately arranged, rarely pyramidate. The appendages are dark brown in colour 
and tapered from a broad base to blunt or bifurcate apex. Accordingly, there should not 
be any controversy regarding the differences between these two genera and thus, now we 
prefer to reidentify this taxon as Pachycladella umbrina (Smith) Silva. 
 The material of this taxon was collected from a large pond near Baroauliar mazar in 
Barisal district on 31 July 2000; water pH 6.8 and temperature 29°C. 
 

2.   Echinosphaerella-like species  (Figs.  5-9) 
 Cells spherical, solitary, planktonic, without any gelatinous sheath; cell wall thin, 
incompletely covered by stout hyaline spines with broad base, and sharply acute apex; 
chloroplast and pyrenoid not clearly seen; cell diam. 27-30 µm; spines 12-21 µm long; 
base of spines 3-8 µm broad. 
 The material was collected from the sewage pond at Pagla, Narayanganj on 15 July 
2004; water pH 7.75 and temperature 31.5°C. 
 The cell structure apparently looks like the zygospores of some desmids, or some 
volvocalean algae, but in the collection not a single cell of these groups of green algae 



98 ISLAM AND ALFASANE 

could be found and thus we may consider these cells as the vegetative stage of any taxon. 
Until further studies we provisionally place it under the genus Echinosphaerella. Hindak 
and M.-Gouni (1990) while describing Treubaria triappendiculata mentioned that 
besides 3-4 spined cells of this taxon, there are few multispined (7-16 spines or upto 50 
spines) Echinosphaerella – like cells, were also present in the same collection, and they  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Plate 1 (Figs. 1-9) 
Figs. 1-4. Pachycladella umbrina (Smith) Silva. 5-6. Echinosphaerella - like cells (Photomicrophs). 7-9. 

Echinosphaerella – like cells (Camera lucida drawings). (Scale = 30 µm). 
 

considered these latter cells also as T. triappendiculata. In the latter cells the many 
spines, however, did not cover the cells completely. Recently we have found several 
planktonic unicellular structures with several spines on the cell wall. The spines are more 



NOTES ON TWO GREEN PLANKTON 99 

or less similar to some of the cells as shown by Hindak and M.-Gouni (Fig. 2, No. 1 (3rd 
one). The base  of the spines in our cells is broad and the apex is sharply pointed. Most of 
the spines in our cells are not too long. In general our cells are more or less similar to the 
cells as shown by Hindak and M.-Gouni but we think that our cells are close to 
Echinosphaerella rather than to Treubaria. 
 
References 
 
Fott, B. and Kovacik, L. 1975. Über die Gattung Treubaria (Chlorococcales, Chlorophyceae). Preslia 47: 

305-316. 
Hindak, P. and M.-Gouni, M.T. 1990. Planktic coccal and trichal green algae of Lake Volir, Greece. Folia 

Geobot. Phyto-Taxonomica. 25(2): 159-195. 
Islam, A.K.M. Nurul and Alfasane, M.A. 2001. New records of some freshwater planktonic algae for 

Bangladesh: Species of Treubaria, Goniochloris, Tetraedriella and Tetraplektron. Bangladesh J. Bot. 
30(2): 131-134. 

Reymond, O.L., Yamagishi, T. and Druart, J.-C. 1992. Morphological and taxonomical assessment of former 
and present records of Pachycladella umbrina and P. zatoriensis (Green alga, Chlorococcales). 
Cryptogamie, Algol. 13(2): 93-107. 

Smith, G.M. 1924. Ecology of the plankton algae in Palisades Interstate Park, including the relation of 
control methods to fish culture. Roosvelt Wild Life Bulletin. 2: 95-195. 

Smith, G.M. 1950. The fresh-water algae of the united States. 2nd edn., McGraw-Hill, New York. pp. 719. 
 
 


	Department of Botany, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangl