The Haptophyte algae have achieved considerable notoriety in recent years. Not only have they been responsible for some disastrous ichthyotoxic blooms in Scandinavian coastal waters, but it now appears that their production of volatile sulphur compounds and calcifying mineralization may even be affecting our climate. This volume is the first book to bring together the scattered literature on this group, and covers all the main aspects of Haptophyte biology; taxonomy, structure, ecology, biochemistry, origins, and evolution.