Chroomonadaceae is a family of

cryptomonads The cryptomonads (or cryptophytes) are a group of algae, most of which have plastids. They are common in freshwater, and also occur in marine and brackish habitats. Each cell is around 10–50 μm in size and flattened in shape, with an anteri ...

first recognized by Clay et al in 1999 as including genera ''

Chroomonas ''Chroomonas'' is a genus of Cryptomonad, cryptophytes first described by Anton Hansgirg. It includes the species ''Chroomonas elegans'', ''Chroomonas placoidea'', ''Chroomonas baltica'', ''Chroomonas guttula'' and ''Chroomonas vectensis''. Refe ...

'', '' Falcomonas'', and '' Komma''. Following a molecular phylogenic study in 2002,

Hemiselmis ''Hemiselmis'' is a genus of cryptomonads. History of discovery It was first described by English biologist Mary Parke in 1949. She also described the first species in this genus, ''Hemiselmis rufescens.'' Morphology ''Hemiselmis'' are typi ...

was also placed within the Chroomonadaceae. Today, the family is generally recognized as

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

to the

Pyrenomonadaceae Pyrenomonadaceae is a family of cryptomonads which includes three or four known genera. They are distinguished from other cryptomonads by their nucleomorphs being imbedded into the pyrenoid, and the presence of distinctive pigment phycoerythrin ...

. They are one of only two groups of cryptomonads (alongside '' Rhinomonas'') to lack a rhizostyle. They are also distinguished by the lack of a

cleavage furrow In cell biology, the cleavage furrow is the indentation of the cell's surface that begins the progression of cleavage, by which animal and some algal cells undergo cytokinesis, the final splitting of the membrane, in the process of cell division. ...

and the presence of several phycocyanins and phycoerythrins not observed in any other cryptomonad taxa.

Taxonomy

Laza-Martinez, 2012

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q12620720 Cryptomonads