Volvox is a polyphyletic genus of chlorophyte green algae in the family Volvocaceae.It forms spherical colonies of up to 50,000 cells. They live in a variety of freshwater habitats, and were first reported by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1700.Volvox diverged from unicellular ancestors approximately 200 million years ago.ach mature Volvox colony is composed of numerous flagellate cells similar to Chlamydomonas, up to 50,000 in total, and embedded in the surface of a hollow sphere or coenobium containing an extracellular matrix made of a gelatinous glycoprotein.