Polyedriopsis is a genus of green algae in the order Sphaeropleales. As of February 2022[update], it contained a single species, Polyedriopsis spinulosa.[1] It is found worldwide in freshwater habitats as phytoplankton, but is rare.[1]
Polyedriopsis spinulosa consists of solitary or sometimes clustered cells, 12–25 μm in diameter. They are four- or five-sided with concave sides; the corners are rounded off and bear a tuft of 3-10 thin tapering spines, 25–50 μm long. Cells are uninuclate (with one nucleus and contain a single parietal chloroplast with one pyrenoid.[1][2]
Polyedriopsis spinulosa reproduces asexually via the formation of zoospores, of which 4 to 8 are produced per cell. Zoospores are ovate, with two flagella and a stigma.[1]
^Shubert, Elliot; Gärtner, Georg (2014). "Chapter 7. Nonmotile Coccoid and Colonial Green Algae". In Wehr, John D.; Sheath, Robert G.; Kociolek, J. Patrick (eds.). Freshwater Algae of North America: Ecology and Classification (2 ed.). Elsevier Inc. ISBN978-0-12-385876-4.
