• Spirulina major: Kützing (1853)
• Arthrospira major : (Kützing) Crow (1927)

The trichomes pale to bright blue-green, mostly solitary, rarely in microscopic agglomerations. Screw-like coiled, not or very slightly constricted at the cross-walls. Coils rectangularly arranged, not joined one to another, mostly very long. Apical cells rounded.

Fresh or brackish shallow stagnant waters, worldwide distribution, possibly cosmopolitan.

Distribution: as Spirulina oscillariorides Turpin

Europe: Romania (Caraus 2002). South-west Asia: India (Silva, Basson & Moe 1996). Australia and New Zealand: Victoria (Day et al. 1995).

as Spirulina majus Kützing ex Gomont

Europe: Baltic Sea (Hällfors 2004), Black Sea (BSPC Editorial Board 2014), Britain (Batters 1902, Whitton et al. 2003), Germany (Täuscher 2014), Lithuania (Vitenaite 2001), Romania (Caraus 2002, Caraus 2012), Spain (Álvarez Cobelas 1982, Aboal & Llimona 1984a, Aboal & Llimona 1984b, Aboal 1988, Alvarez-Cobelas & Gallardo 1988, Aboal 1989, Bárbara & Cremades 1996, Aboal, Prefasi & Asencio 1996, Aboal 1996, Calvo, Bárbara & Cremades 1999, Calvo & Bárbara 2002, Peña & Bárbara 2002, Bárbara et al. 2005, Pérez, Maidana & Comas 2009, Cires Rodriguez & Cuesta Moliner 2010), Turkey (Europe) (Ersanli & Gönülol 2006). South America: Brazil (Werner 2010). Africa: Egypt (Papenfuss 1968), Sierra Leone (Alfinito 2011). South-west Asia: Iran (Afsharzadeh et al. 2003), Israel (Papenfuss 1968, Vinogradova et al. 2000), Pakistan (Gul et al. 2007). Asia: China (Hu & Wei 2006), Nepal (Rai, Rai & Jha 2010). South-east Asia: Vietnam (Nguyen et al. 2013). Australia and New Zealand: New South Wales (Day et al. 1995), New Zealand (Broady & Merican 2012), Queensland (Day et al. 1995, Bostock & Holland 2010), South Australia (Day et al. 1995). Pacific Islands: Central Polynesia (Tsuda & Walsh 2013), French Polynesia (Villeneuve et al. 2012), Hawaiian Islands (Sherwood 2004).

as Arthrospira major (Kützing ex Gomont) W.B.Crow

Europe: Denmark (Nielsen 2002). North America: Arkansas (Smith 2010). Africa: Madagascar (Silva, Basson & Moe 1996), Mozambique (Silva, Basson & Moe 1996). South-west Asia: India (Silva, Basson & Moe 1996), Kuwait (Silva, Basson & Moe 1996), Saudi Arabia (Silva, Basson & Moe 1996). South-east Asia: Singapore (Pham et al. 2011). Pacific Islands: Federated States of Micronesia (Lobban & Tsuda 2003).

Checklist of Baltic Sea Phytoplankton Species. Baltic Sea Environment Proceedings No. 95, Helsinki Commission Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, Hällfors G., 2004,

Süßwasserflora von Mitteleuropa / Freshwater Flora of Central Europe. 19/2. Cyanoprokaryota. 2. Teil/Part 2: Oscillatoriales., Spektrum Akademischer Verlag., Komarek J., Anagnostidis K., 2005, 1-760