Aphanocapsa sp – Kinneret Algae Atlas

Phylum: Cyanobacteriophyta
Class: Cyanophyceae
Order: Chroococcales
Habitat: plankton
Distinctive features: spherical colonies of densely packed minute-size cells.
Organization: colonies
Color: pale blue-green
Cell shape: sphere
Colony shape: sphere or close to a sphere
Cell diameter (D): 0.5-1.0 μm.
Cell biovolume: 0.06-0.5 μm³
Biovolume equation: Sphere V, µm³ = 4/3 π (D/2)³.
Colony diameter: ~50-200 μm
Cells per colony: hundreds to thousands

Morphological features

Colonies with many closely packed tiny (0.4-1.0 μm diameter) spherical cells with no gas vacuoles, irregularly arranged and embedded in mucilage with indistinct outer margin. Rare. Identified only to genus level.

Plate 1. Large and small colonies of Aphanocapsa sp. Photo by Alla Alster.

Ecology

Rare in Lake Kinneret, we have no ecological data for this genus.

Cite this record as: Dr. Tamar Zohary, Dr. Alla Alster. 21 July 2026. Electronic publication. Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research. https://kinneret-algae-atlas.org/ Searched on —.