Question

Name a colonial form of algae?

Answer 1

Volvox is a colonial form of algae. Its characteristics are as follows:

1. A single colony of the volvox looks like ball of about 0.5 mm in diameter.
2. The plant body of the volvox is a a hollow sphere known as coenobium, in which thousands of cells are arranged in the periphery of the sphere.
3. The cells of the coenobium are of two types, mainly germ cells and flagellated somatic cells.
4. The extracellular matrix of the coenobium is made up of glycoproteins.
5. They have a cup-shaped chloroplast, that contains pyrenoids.
6. The cell has a nucleus, vacuoles & an eyespot.