Heterocapsa

Heterocapsa is a genus of dinoflagellates belonging to the family Heterocapsaceae. It is an unicellular photosynthetic dinoflagellate with thecal plates arranged as Po, cp, 5', 3a, 7'', 6c, 5s, 5, 2' and extracellular, three-dimensional triradiate body scales. The genus is often found in worldwide algal blooms, causing harmful algal blooms (HABs) that devastate the environment or agriculture. Its mixotroph properties grants an advantage to its cosmopolitan distribution, being able to switch to phagotrophy, when light penetration is low.

== Characteristics == Theca is the body armor that overlays the surface of many members of Peridiniales and Gonyaulacales (under Peridiniphycidae), including Heterocapsa. It is mainly composed of cellulose secreted in the Amphiesmal Vesicles, which is right beneath the cell membrane and serves important functions and characters to dinoflagellates, as they are of SAR Super group.