Nodularia
| Nodularia | |
|---|---|
| Satellite image of a large bloom of Nodularia swirling in the Baltic Sea | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Kingdom: | Bacillati |
| Phylum: | Cyanobacteria |
| Class: | Cyanophyceae |
| Order: | Nostocales |
| Family: | Aphanizomenonaceae |
| Genus: | Nodularia Mertens 1822 |
| Species | |
|
Nodularia armorica | |
Nodularia is a genus of filamentous nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae. They occur mainly in brackish or salinic waters, such as the hypersaline Makgadikgadi Pans, the Peel-Harvey Estuary in Western Australia or the Baltic Sea. Nodularia cells occasionally form heavy algal blooms. Some strains produce a cyanotoxin called nodularin R, which is harmful to humans.
The type species for the genus is Nodularia spumigena Mertens ex Bornet & Flahault, 1886.