genus of single-celled aquatic algae common in fresh water and salt water from the Arctic to the tropics. Its members are armoured dinoflagellates. (A dinoflagellate has two unlike flagella and has both plant and animal characteristics.) The cell contains chromatophores with yellow, brown, or green pigments. The theca, or armour, is composed of many textured plates that form one anterior horn and usually two posterior horns, which may help to slow the sinking of the cells. The spines tend to be shorter and thicker in cold, salty water and longer and thinner in less salty, warmer water. Members of the genus form an important part of the plankton found in temperate-zone seas.