Pfiesteria piscicida
![The complex life cycle of Pfiesteria piscidica as published in the 1990s: Red = toxic stages, yellow = possibly toxic stages, blue = passive stages](/Images/godic/202502/02/Lifecycle_of_Pfiesteria0318.jpg")
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Pfiesteria piscicida is a dinoflagellate species of the genus Pfiesteria that some researchers claim is responsible for many harmful algal blooms in the 1980s and 1990s on the coast of North Carolina and Maryland. It was called the "Cell from Hell" in many media reports. The species epithet piscicida means "fish-killer".