Tetraspora

Tetraspora is a genus of green algae in the family Tetrasporaceae of the order Chlamydomonadales, division Chlorophyta. Species of Tetraspora are unicellular green algae that exist in arrangements of four and consist of cells being packaged together in a gelatinous envelope that creates macroscopic colonies. These are primarily freshwater organisms, although there have been few cases where they have been found inhabiting marine environments and even contaminated water bodies. Tetraspora species can be found all around the globe, except in Antarctica. Despite the ubiquitous presence, the greatest growth of the genera's species is seen in the polar climatic zones. Tetraspora species are non-motile and instead of having flagella, they possess pairs of pseudoflagella which are part of the pseudociliary apparatus. On average the cell diameter of Tetraspora ranges from 6-13 μm. Energy is accumulated via photosynthesis through two cup-shaped chloroplasts, making the species primary producers.......read more on Wikipedia.