Dasycladales: An Illustrated Monograph of a Fascinating Algal Order

Abstract

The green algae order originated more than 500 million years ago and had its golden age during geologic times. This atlas describes the unique morphologic features of both fossil and recent species. It follows the phylogeny of these single cell organisms through millions of years and considers their fossil relicts in facies and stratigraphy. Due to the detailed knowledge on the evolution of morphologic characteristics, it is possible to discover the time of development of the living genera. Maps demonstrate the distribution of the living species. The systematic classification of the living dasycladales makes use of their availability in laboratory cultures. Crosses were performed between questionable species and morphologic characteristics observed over several generations excluding environmental influences on their expression. A collection of photographs and scanning electron micrographs documents the features of the living dasycladales. Schematic drawings and photographs describe the life cycle.