Belongs within: Dinoflagellata.
The Noctilucales are a lineage of dinoflagellates with large, buoyant cells inflated by vacuoles (Dodge & Lee 2002).
Characters (Dodge & Lee 2002): Principal life cycle stage a large free-living, buoyant, motile cell inflated by vacuoles. Dinokaryon during part of life cycle. Flagellar activity often absent, well developed contractile fibrils may facilitate undulations of extremities to produce cellular movements. Cells phagotrophic; tentacle, when present, involved in feeding. Life cycles may be complex with haploid and diploid generations. Each stage of life cycle capable of binary fission (asexual). Sporogenesis rarely occuring, producing up to 1000 gymnodinioid gametes with typical dinokaryons.
<==Noctilucales (see below for synonymy)
|--Noctiluca Suriray in Lamarck 1816 (nom. cons. prop.) (see below for synonymy)FT93
| `--*N. miliaris Suriray in Lamarck 1816SW70 [incl. N. scintillans (Macartney 1810) Kofoid & Swezy 1921DL02, FT93]
|--Kofoidiniaceae [Kofoidininae]FT93
| |--Spatulodinium Cachon & Cachon 1967FT93
| |--Pomatodinium Cachon & Cachon-Enjumet 1966FT93
| | `--P. impatiens Cachon & Cachon-Enjumet 1966FT93
| `--Kofoidinium Pavillard 1928FT93
| |--*K. velleloides Pavillard 1928SW70
| |--K. arcticum Bursa 1964S73
| |--K. pavillardii Cachon & Cachon 1967FT93
| `--K. splendens Cachon & Cachon 1967FT93
`--Leptodiscaceae [Leptodiscidae, Leptodisciidae, Leptodiscinae]FT93
|--Craspedotella Kofoid 1905FT93
| `--C. pileolusT87
|--Cymbodinium Cachon & Cachon 1967FT93
| `--C. elegans Cachon & Cachon 1967FT93
|--Petalodinium Cachon & Cachon 1969FT93
| `--P. porcelio Cachon & Cachon 1969S73
|--Cachonodinium Loeblich 1980 [=Leptodinium Cachon & Cachon 1969 non Klement 1960]FT93
| `--‘Leptodinium’ caudatum Cachon & Cachon 1969S73
|--Leptodiscus Hertwig 1877 [=Pratjetella Lohmann 1920; incl. Clipeodinium Pascher 1917]FT93
| `--L. medusoides [=Pratjetella medusoides (Hertwig) Loeblich & Loeblich 1966]S73
|--Abedinium Loeblich & Loeblich 1966 [=Leptophyllus Cachon & Cachon-Enjumet 1964 nec Hope 1842 nec Quenstedt 1876]FT93
| `--*A. dasypus (Cachon & Cachon-Enjumet) Loeblich & Loblich 1966 (see below for synonymy)S80
`--Scaphodinium Margalef 1963 [incl. Leptospathium Cachon & Cachon-Enjumet 1964]FT93
|--S. mirabile Margalef 1963S73
`--‘Leptospathium’ navicula Cachon & Cachon-Enjumet 1964S73
*Abedinium dasypus (Cachon & Cachon-Enjumet) Loeblich & Loblich 1966 [=*Leptophyllus dasypus Cachon & Cachon-Enjumet 1964]S80
Noctiluca Suriray in Lamarck 1816 (nom. cons. prop.) non Linnaeus 1758 (ICZN) [incl. Mammaria Oken 1815, Slabberia Oken 1815; Noctilucaceae, Noctilucidae, Noctilucinae]FT93
Noctilucales [Cystoflagellata, Cystoflagelliae, Cystoflagelloidae, Cystoflagelloidea, Cystomonades, Myxocystodea, Noctilucades, Noctilucea, Noctilucina, Noctiluciphyceae, Rhynchoflagellata]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[DL02] Dodge, J. D., & J. J. Lee. 2002. Phylum Dinoflagellata Bütschli, 1885. In: Lee, J. J., G. F. Leedale & P. Bradbury (eds) An Illustrated Guide to the Protozoa: Organisms traditionally referred to as Protozoa, or newly discovered groups 2nd ed. vol. 1 pp. 656–689. Society of Protozoologists: Lawrence (Kansas).
[FT93] Fensome, R. A., F. J. R. Taylor, G. Norris, W. A. S. Sarjeant, D. I. Wharton & G. L. Williams. 1993. A classification of living and fossil dinoflagellates. Micropaleontology Special Publication 7: i–viii, 1–351.
[S80] Silva, P. C. 1980. Remarks on algal nomenclature VI. Taxon 29 (1): 121–145.
[S73] Sournia, A. 1973. Catalogue des espèces et taxons infraspécifiques de Dinoflagellés marins actuels publiés depuis la révision de J. Schiller. I. Dinoflagellés libres. Beihefte zur Nova Hedwigia 48: 1–92.
[SW70] Steidinger, K. A., & J. Williams. 1970. Dinoflagellates. Memoirs of the Hourglass Cruises 2: 1–251.
[T87] Taylor, F. J. R. 1987. Dinoflagellate morphology. In: Taylor, F. J. R. (ed.) The Biology of Dinoflagellates pp. 24–91. Blackwell Scientific.