5/05/2015

Fottea, 2015 (vol. 15), issue 1

Nupela troglophila sp. nov., an aerophilous diatom (Bacillariophyta) from the Bossea cave (NW Italy), with notes on its ecology

Elisa Falasco, Francesca Bona, Marco Isaia, Elena Piano, Carlos E. Wetzel, Lucien Hoffmann, Luc Ector

Fottea 15(1): 1-9, 2015 | 10.5507/fot.2015.001
Nupela troglophila sp. nov. is described from epilithic and epiphytic samples collected around the artificial lighting system in the Bossea cave, SW Alps (NW Italy). The morphological features of the new species are described and documented through light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy analysis. A comparison with morphologically similar taxa is provided. Nupela troglophila belongs to the group of the small, elliptical-lanceolate species of the genus Nupela. The key feature that distinguishes it from all the other taxa belonging to this genus is the shape of the distal raphe fissures, always laying on the valvar surface, stro...

A re-examination of the type material of Entomoneis paludosa (W Smith) Reimer and its morphology and distribution in African waters

Tatenda Dalu, Jonathan C. Taylor, Nicole B. Richoux, P. William Froneman

Chara globata Mig. (Streptophyta: Charales): rare species revised

Roman E. Romanov, Andrey A. Gontcharov, Sophia S. Barinova

Fottea 15(1): 39-50, 2015 | 10.5507/fot.2015.004
A rare species Chara globata Mig. has a distinct habit and may be referred to as a flagship species. Here we describe a wide range of vegetative and reproductive morphologies in C. globata in localities distant from the locus classicus. In contrast to the known holotype features, the specimens studied consistently displayed a generally tylacanthous diplostichous stem cortex which is in agreement with protologue. Based on morphology, phylogenetic affinity (this study) and results of breeding experiments (Proctor 1971, 1975), we proposed that C. globata should be transferred to the section Chara. Current data suggest that 

Two new Tertiarius (Bacillariophyta, Coscinodiscophyceae) species from Mariovo Neogene Basin, Macedonia

Nadja Ognjanova-Rumenova, Elena Jovanovska, Aleksandra Cvetkoska, Zlatko Levkov

Fottea 15(1): 51-62, 2015 | 10.5507/fot.2015.005
The morphology, biostratigraphy and ecology of two new species, Tertiarius jurijlii and Tertiarius mariovensis are presented. The valve morphological variation and ultrastructure are described by light and scanning electron microscopy. Tertiarius juriljii is distinguished by the presence of hyaline area on the valve face; central area comprised of areolae arranged in single short or long radial rows; presence of small to large granules on the interstriae; and valve face fultoportulae arranged in radial rows around the valve center. Comparatively, in Tertiarius mariovensis the hyaline area around the central area is missing, and t...

Cyclotella paleo-ocellata, a new centric diatom (Bacillariophyta) from Lake Kinneret (Israel)

Hannah Vossel, Jane M. Reed, Václav Houk, Aleksandra Cvetkoska, Bart Van de Vijver

Fottea 15(1): 63-75, 2015 | 10.5507/fot.2015.006
Large, subfossil populations of an unknown centric, planktonic diatom were observed in a lake sediment core from Lake Kinneret (Israel), which is here described as Cyclotella paleo-ocellata sp. nov. The new taxon, which belongs to the Cyclotella ocellata species complex, is described and separated from other similar taxa (e.g., Cyclotella ocellata, Cyclotella kuetzingiana, Cyclotella polymorpha, Cyclotella paraocellata) based on a combination of the following morphological characters: valve diameter, number of orbiculi depressi (circular depressions), number of striae/10 µm, stria length, number and position of rimoportulae...

Nupela (Bacillariophyceae) in littoral rivers from south Brazil, and description of six new species of the genus

Priscila I. Tremarin, Arielli Straube, Thelma A. V. Ludwig

Fottea 15(1): 77-93, 2015 | 10.5507/fot.2015.007
The genus Nupela is characterized mainly by structure of the areola and raphe system. Many species were described from tropical regions; however, few studies have been conducted on Brazilian environments. The goal of this article is to identify and describe the morphology of Nupela species, under light and electron microscopy, found in the rivers of the Atlantic Forest from southern Brazil. Twelve species were found, including six described as new: Nupela amabilis Tremarin et T. Ludwig, N. difficilis Straube, Tremarin et T. Ludwig, N. kocioleckii Straube, Tremarin et T. Ludwig, N. metzeltinii Tremarin et T. Ludwig, ...

Ulvella tongshanensis (Ulvellaceae, Chlorophyta), a new freshwater species from China, and an emended morphological circumscription of the genus Ulvella

Huan Zhu, Frederik Leliaert, Zhi-Juan Zhao, Shuang Xia, Zheng-Yu Hu, Guo-Xiang Liu

Fottea 15(1): 95-104, 2015 | 10.5507/fot.2015.008
A new freshwater species of UlvellaU. tongshanensis H. Zhu et G. Liu, is described from material collected from rocks under small waterfalls in Hubei Province, China. This unusual species differs from other species in the genus by the macroscopic and upright parenchymatous thalli, and by the particular habitat (most Ulvella species occur in marine environments). Phylogenetic analyses of plastid encoded rbcL and tufA, and nuclear 18S rDNA sequences, pointed towards the generic placement of U. tongshanensis and also showed a close relationship with two other freshwater species, Ulvella bullata (Jao) H. Zhu et...

Denticula jamesrossensis, a new freshwater diatom (Bacillariophyta) species from the Maritime Antarctic Region

Bart Van de Vijver, Kateřina Kopalová, J. Patrick Kociolek, Luc Ector

Fottea 15(1): 105-111, 2015 | 10.5507/fot.2015.009
During a survey of the freshwater diatom flora of James Ross Island (northern Weddell Sea) in the Maritime Antarctic Region, an unknown Denticulataxon was found in some lakes of Clearwater Mesa. The taxon showed some similarities with D. rainierensis Sovereign and D. subtilis Grunow but based on detailed light (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) the species showed sufficient morphological differences to separate it as a new species: D. jamesrossensis sp. nov. The new taxon is characterized, and distinguished from other species of the genus, by a typical constriction in the middle of the valve and a very high number of st...