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The haptophytes (from the Greek "hapsis" - touch, reflecting their use of the haptonema), classed either as the Prymnesiophyta or Haptophyta, are a group of algae. The chloroplasts are pigmented similarly to those of the heterokonts, such as golden algae, but the structure of the rest of the cell is different, so it may be that they are a separate line whose chloroplasts are derived from similar endosymbionts. The cells typically have two slightly unequal flagella, both of which are smooth, and a unique organelle called a haptonema, which is superficially similar to a flagellum but differs in the arrangement of microtubules and in its use. The most important group of haptophytes are the coccolithophores.
Two genera of haptophytes, Chrysochromulina and Prymnesium, periodically form toxic marine Algal blooms.
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