The haptophytes, classified either as the Haptophyta, HaptophytinaorPrymnesiophyta (named for Prymnesium), are a cladeofalgae.
| Haptophytes | |
|---|---|
| |
| Coccolithophore (Coccolithus pelagicus) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Diaphoretickes |
| Phylum: | Haptista |
| Subphylum: | Haptophytina Hibberd, 1976 stat. nov. Cavalier-Smith, 2015[1] |
| Classes & Orders | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The names HaptophyceaeorPrymnesiophyceae are sometimes used instead.[2][3][4] This ending implies classification at the class rank rather than as a division. Although the phylogenetics of this group has become much better understood in recent years, there remains some dispute over which rank is most appropriate.
The chloroplasts are pigmented similarly to those of the heterokonts,[5] but the structure of the rest of the cell is different, so it may be that they are a separate line whose chloroplasts are derived from similar red algal endosymbionts.
The cells typically have two slightly unequal flagella, both of which are smooth, and a unique organelle called a haptonema, which is superficially similar to a flagellum but differs in the arrangement of microtubules and in its use. The name comes from the Greek hapsis, touch, and nema, round thread. The mitochondria have tubular cristae.
The best-known haptophytes are coccolithophores, which make up 673 of the 762 described haptophyte species,[6] and have an exoskeleton of calcareous plates called coccoliths. Coccolithophores are some of the most abundant marine phytoplankton, especially in the open ocean, and are extremely abundant as microfossils, forming chalk deposits. Other planktonic haptophytes of note include Chrysochromulina and Prymnesium, which periodically form toxic marine algal blooms, and Phaeocystis, blooms of which can produce unpleasant foam which often accumulates on beaches.[7]
Haptophytes are economically important, as species such as Pavlova lutheri and Isochrysis sp. are widely used in the aquaculture industry to feed oyster and shrimp larvae. They contain a large amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), stearidonic acid and alpha-linolenic acid.[8] Tisochrysis lutea contains betain lipids and phospholipids.[9]
The haptophytes were first placed in the class Chrysophyceae (golden algae), but ultrastructural data have provided evidence to classify them separately.[10] Both molecular and morphological evidence supports their division into five orders; coccolithophores make up the Isochrysidales and Coccolithales. Very small (2-3μm) uncultured pico-prymnesiophytes are ecologically important.[7]
Haptophytes was discussed to be closely related to cryptomonads.[11]
Haptophytes are closely related to the SAR clade.[12]
Subphylum Haptophytina Cavalier-Smith 2015 [Haptophyta Hibberd 1976 sensu Ruggerio et al. 2015][13]
