Gloetrichia

Gloetrichia is a genus of filamentous, colonial cyanobacteria. The species in genus Gloetrichia are composed of wide, beady filaments which are protected by a filamentous gelatinous sheath that tapers in a tail-like shape. Gloetrichia also produces specialized cells, such as heterocysts and akinetes. Gloetrichia heterocysts are basal cells connected to the colony in a bead-like pattern, and akinetes may form directly next to them under stress.