Several excursions have been undertaken to sample marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats for the presence of microscopic algae on and around the Canary Islands. Sampling and isolation efforts resulted in several newly established cryptophyte cultures. To preliminarily determine their identity, nuclear SSU rDNA was sequenced and subjected to molecular phylogenetic analyses. All cryptophyte cultures belong to currently known major clades, five out of six freshwater lineages likely represent new Cryptomonas species.
