''Raphidocelis subcapitata'', formerly known as ''Selenastrum capricornutum'' and ''Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata'' is a

microalga Microalgae or microphytes are microscopic scale, microscopic algae invisible to the naked eye. They are phytoplankton typically found in freshwater and marine life, marine systems, living in both the water column and sediment. They are unicellul ...

. This microalga presents a curved and twisted appearance like a sickle. The cells are normally presented in a solitary form. It has a length between 8 and 14 μm, and a width between 2 and 3 μm. It is commonly used as a

bioindicator A bioindicator is any species (an indicator species) or group of species whose function, population, or status can reveal the qualitative status of the environment. The most common indicator species are animals. For example, copepods and other sma ...

species to assess the levels of nutrients or toxic substances in

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

environments. This species is quite sensitive to the presence of toxic substances including metals and has a ubiquitous distribution, so is broadly used in

ecotoxicology Ecotoxicology is the study of the effects of toxic chemicals on biological organisms, especially at the population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecotoxicology is a multidisciplinary field, which integrates toxicology and ecology. ...

. This species has been found to be more competitive than ''

Chara vulgaris ''Chara vulgaris'', the common stonewort, is a green alga species in the genus Chara (alga), ''Chara''. See also * List of sequenced plastomes References External links

Charophyta Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeu ...

'' at low sodium chloride concentrations, but ''C. vulgaris'' was more competitive under salt stress.

References

Sphaeropleales {{Chlorophyceae-stub