Aphanothece stagnina – Kinneret Algae Atlas

Phylum: Cyanobacteriophyta
Class: Cyanophyceae
Order: Chroococcales
Habitat: benthos, littoral
Distinctive features: colonial, forming masses in ankle-deep water near shore
Organization: colonial
Color: brown to olive-green
Cell shape: cylinders with rounded ends
Colony shape: sphaerical and various shapes formed when a sphere gets pushed, pulled or twisted
Cell diameter (D): 3–5 μm
Cell length (L): 4–11 μm
Colony diameter: up to 1-2 cm

Morphological features

large brown to olive-green colonies made of densly packed ovoid cells, floating in shallow water near the lake’s waterline. Colonies can reach diameter >1 cm and are seen with a naked eye. Prokaryotic cells with no individual sheath.

Plate 1. A colony of Aphanothece stagnina from the shore of Lake Kinneret, Aug 2008. Photo by Alla Alster.

Plate 2. Higher magnification on a colony of Aphanothece stagnina from the shore of Lake Kinneret, 2008. Photo by Alla Alster.

Plate 3. Close-up on individual cells in a colony of Aphanothece stagnina from the shore of Lake Kinneret, 2008. Photo by Alla Alster.

Ecology

Initial development is benthic, but mature colonies float to the surface and are wind-driven to form shoreline accumulations. Masses of this species were seen in Lake Kinneret only once during Summer-fall 2008. At other times, occasionally a few colonies are observed.

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 —.