A simple classification of the volvocine algae by formal languages.

There are several explanations of why certain primitive multicellular organisms aggregate in particular forms and why their constituent cells cooperate with one another to a particular degree. Utilizing the framework of formal language theory, we have derived one possible simple classification of the volvocine algae-one of the primitive multicells-for some forms of aggregation and some degrees of cooperation among cells. The volvocine algae range from the unicellular Chlamydomonas to the multicellular Volvox globator, which has thousands of cells.