multicellular
Colonial organisms were probably one of the first evolutionary steps towards multicellular organisms. Algae of the genus Volvox are an example of the bridge between colonial organisms and multicellular organisms. Each Volvox , shown in Figure above , is a colonial organism. It is made of up to 50,000 photosynthetic flagellate algae that are grouped together into a hollow sphere. Volvox live in a variety of freshwater habitats, and were first reported by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1700.