Taxonomy:
– Higher level classification of green algae was unsettled as of February 2022.
– AlgaeBase places Charales within the class Charophyceae.
– Charales are circumscribed in the division Charophyta.
Families:
– AlgaeBase accepts two families with extant species and four families with only fossil species.
– Families include Characeae, Feistiellaceae, †Aclistocharaceae, †Atopocharaceae, and †Clavatoraceae.
– Nitellopsis is placed in the family Feistiellaceae by AlgaeBase.
– Other sources may place Nitellopsis in the family Characeae.
– The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera accepts three extinct families.
Fossil record:
– Body fossils of Charales are rare.
– The fossil record consists mostly of gyrogonites.
– The oldest known Charales representative is Eochara wickendenii.
– The family Characeae dominates fossil assemblages in the Paleogene or Late Cretaceous.
References:
– Guiry and Guiry’s work on Charales can be found in AlgaeBase.
– Encyclopedia Britannica provides classification information on algae.
– The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera contains data on Charales.
– Various sources offer details on Nitellopsis.
– Studies on Charales fossils are available in publications like Aquatic Botany and Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology.
Further reading:
– Bryant’s work on stoneworts is part of the New Survey of Clare Island.
– Schaible and Schubert discuss the occurrence of sexual Chara canescens populations.
– Desai and Karande explore the biodiversity of Charophytes in Kolhapur District, Maharashtra.
Charales is an order of freshwater green algae in the division Charophyta, class Charophyceae, commonly known as stoneworts. Depending on the treatment of the genus Nitellopsis, living (extant) species are placed into either one family (Characeae) or two (Characeae and Feistiellaceae). Further families are used for fossil members of the order. Linnaeus established the genus Chara in 1753.
| Stoneworts | |
|---|---|
| |
| Chara globularis | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| (unranked): | Viridiplantae |
| (unranked): | Charophyta |
| Class: | Charophyceae |
| Order: | Charales |
| Families | |
|
See text. | |
