In taxonomy, Prasinococcus capulatus is a species of green algae, specifically of the genus Prasinococcus. The name "'capulatus'" coming from the alga's large capsule which surrounds the cell. This unicellular algal species was discovered in 1990 in the West Pacific Ocean and has characteristic reproduction methods as well as an interesting and potentially exploitable morphology. This is the only species in the genus, though various strains exist, for example URI 266G is the Atlantic clone.