The austral biflagellate Chloromonas rubroleosa (Chlorophyceae) is the closest relative of the unusual quadriflagellate genus Chlainomonas, both found in snow

The quadriflagellate genus Chlainomonas frequently dominates red snow globally. It is unusual in several respects, with two separated pairs of flagella, apparent cell division via extrusion of cytoplasmic threads, and being nested phylogenetically within the biflagellate genus Chloromonas. Here, we showed that the austral species Chloromonas (Cr.) rubroleosa, originally described from Antarctic red snow, is a close biflagellate relative of Chlainomonas, challenging the monophyly of Chlainomonas as currently conceived. Sequences of the 18S rRNA gene robustly linked Cr. rubroleosa with near‐identical environmental sequences from Antarctic red snow and Chlainomonas from North America, Japan, and Europe. Furthermore, the 18S rRNA and rbcL gene sequences of Cr. rubroleosa were almost identical to New Zealand and North American collections of Chlainomonas. Cr. rubroleosa and New Zealand Chlainomonas are separated by only a single‐base substitution across the ITS1‐5.8S‐ITS2 rRNA loci (and according to ITS2, the North American collection is the next closest relative). This again raises the possibility that Chlainomonas is a life‐cycle stage of vegetatively biflagellate organisms, although this remains confounded by the scarcity of biflagellates in field populations, the apparent cell division by quadriflagellates, and the absence of Chlainomonas‐type cells in cultures of Cr. rubroleosa. The latter species is broadly similar to Chlainomonas, being poor at swimming, with similar pigment, chloroplast arrangement and ultrastructure, and is relatively large. Increased size is a feature of the wider clade of “Group D” snow algae. A synthesis of field and laboratory investigations may be needed to unravel the life cycle and correct the systematics of this group.