Autospore

An autospore is a non-motile (non-flagellated) aplanospore that is produced within a parent cell, and has the same shape as the parent cell, before release. Autospores, zoospores, and aplanospores, are the three types of spores that algae use to reproduce and spread asexually. Autospores occur in several groups of algae, including Eustigmatophyceae, Dinoflagellates, and green algae. For example, the colonial alga Dichotomococcus produces two autospores per reproducing cell; the autospores escape through a slit in the cell wall and remain attached to the mother cell.