灰藻在历史上曾被视为绿藻纲绿球藻目Oocystaceae科的一个子类群,但目前被视为与绿藻独立的植物类群。[13]
目前已有13种灰藻被发现,但没有一种是广布种,其被置于五个属中,其分类表如下:[1]
- 灰藻门 Phylum Glaucophyta Skuja 1948
- 灰藻纲 Class Glaucocystophyceae Schaffner 1922 [Cyanophorophyceae]
- 蓝载藻目 Order Cyanophorales Kies & Kramer 1986
- 蓝载藻科 Family Cyanophoraceae Kies & Kramer 1986
- Genus ?Peliaina Pascher 1929
- Peliaina cyanea Pascher 1929
- Genus ?Strobilomonas Schiller 1954
- Strobilomonas cyaneus Schiller 1954
- 蓝载藻属 Genus Cyanophora Korshikov 1924 (能够运动,缺乏细胞壁)
- C. tetracyanea Korshikov 1941
- C. biloba Kugrens et al. 1999
- C. sudae Takahashi & Nozaki 2014
- C. paradoxa Korshikov 1924
- C. kugrensii Takahashi & Nozaki 2014
- C. cuspidata Takahashi & Nozaki 2014
- 灰黏毛藻目 Order Gloeochaetales Kies & Kremer 1986
- 灰黏毛藻科 Family Gloeochaetaceae Bohlin 1901 ex Skuja 1954
- 蓝褶藻属 Genus Cyanoptyche Pascher 1929 (最缺乏研究的属)
- 蓝褶藻属 Cyanoptyche gloeocystis Pascher 1929
- 灰黏毛藻属 Genus Gloeochaete von Lagerheim 1883 [Schrammia Dangeard 1889 non Britton & Rose 1930 non Guppy 1895; Cyanochaete Gobi 1916] (具有可运动和不可运动的阶段,细胞壁似乎不是由纤维素组成)
- G. protogenita Kutzing
- G. wittrockiana von Lagerheim 1883
- 灰藻目 Order Glaucocystales Bessey 1907
- 灰藻科 Family Glaucocystidaceae Bohlin 1901 ex West 1904
- Genus Glaucocystopsis Bourrelly 1961
- Glaucocystopsis africana Bourrelly 1961
- 灰藻属 Genus Glaucocystis Itzigsohn 1868 (不能运动,但鞭毛作为痕迹器官保留了下来,具有纤维素的细胞壁。)
- G. bullosa (Kützing 1836) Wille 1919
- G. caucasica Tarnogradskii 1957
- G. cingulata Bohlin 1897
- G. duplex Prescott 1944
- G. molochinearum Geitler
- G. simplex Tarnogradskii 1959
- G. nostochinearum Itzigsohn 1868 ex Rabenh. 1935
- G. geitleri Pringsheim 1958 ex Takahashi & Nozaki 2016
- G. incrassata (Lemmermann 1908) Takahashi & Nozaki 2016
- G. miyajii Takahashi & Nozaki 2016
- G. bhattacharyae Takahashi & Nozaki 2016
- G. oocystiformis Prescott 1944