The
Chromista are a paraphyletic
eukaryotic supergroup, which may be treated as a separate
kingdom or included among the
Protista. They include all
algae whose
chloroplasts contain
chlorophylls a and
c, as well as various colorless forms that are closely related to them. These are surrounded by four membranes, and are believed to have been acquired from some
red alga. There are three different groups
The name Chromista was introduced by Cavalier-Smith in 1981; the earlier names chromophyte and chromobiont correspond to roughly the same group. Molecular trees have had some difficulty resolving relationships between the different groups. It now appears that all three share a common ancestor with the alveolates (see chromalveolates), but it is possible that the Chromista themselves are paraphyletic.
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