Morphological, molecular, and life cycle characteristics of Phaeocystis globosa Scherffel (Prymnesiophyceae) in the Southeast China Sea

•An 18S rDNA-based phylogeny revealed that P. globosa strains from the Southeast China Sea belong to the warm-water clade.•Significant physiological differences exist between southeast china Sea and European P. globosa strains via different flagellar lengths, small flagellar cell scales, and colony sizes.•P. globosa colonies are formed through both budding and colony fragments.