Pfiesteria piscicida
| Pfiesteria piscicida | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Diaphoretickes |
| Clade: | Sar |
| Clade: | Alveolata |
| Phylum: | Dinoflagellata |
| Class: | Dinophyceae |
| Order: | Thoracosphaerales |
| Family: | Pfiesteriaceae |
| Genus: | Pfiesteria |
| Species: | P. piscicida |
| Binomial name | |
| Pfiesteria piscicida Steidinger & Burkholder | |
Pfiesteria piscicida is a dinoflagellate species of the genus Pfiesteria that some researchers claim was responsible for many harmful algal blooms in the 1980s and 1990s on the coast of North Carolina and Maryland. North Carolinian media in the 1990s referred to the organism as the cell from hell. It is known to populate estuaries. Piscicida means "fish-killer".