in 1906, teodoresco described two species named "dunaliella salina" and "dunaliella viridis". the distinct classifications came from "d. salina" being notably bigger in size and being red in colour due to large amounts of carotenoid pigments. "d. viridis" was described as smaller as well as green in colour. these descriptions were extensively challenged by other biologists such as hamburger and blanchard, who insisted that they were not different species, but simply different life stages with the green cells being the juvenile form .