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Issue: Vol. 450 No. 1: 24 June 2020
Type: Article
Published: 2020-06-24
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.450.1.6
Page range: 85–94
Abstract views: 34
PDF downloaded: 2

Luticola puchalskiana, a new small terrestrial Luticola species (Bacillariophyceae) from the Maritime Antarctic Region

University of Rzeszow, Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection, Zelwerowicza 4, 35–601 Rzeszów, Poland. University of Rzeszow, Podkarpackie Innovative Research Center of Environment, Zelwerowicza 8B, 35–601 Rzeszów, Poland.
Institute of Oceanology, Department of Marine Biology and Ecology, Parvi May Str. 40, 9000 Varna, Bulgaria.
University of Rzeszow, Department of Soil Studies, Environmental, Chemistry and Hydrology, Zelwerowicza 8B, 35-601 Rzeszów, Poland.
Jagiellonian University, Department of Polar Research and Documentation, Institute of Botany, Kopernika 27, 31-501 Kraków, Poland Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Pawińskiego 5a, 02-106 Warszawa, Poland.
Meise Botanic Garden, Research Department, Nieuwelaan 38, B–1860 Meise, Belgium University of Antwerp, Department of Biology, ECOBE, Universiteitsplein 1, B–2610 Wilrijk, Antwerpen, Belgium
diatoms Deception Island King George Island morphology moss soil Algae

Abstract

During a survey of the terrestrial diatom flora of the Maritime Antarctic Region, an unknown Luticola taxon that could not be identified using the currently available literature was observed on two islands of the South Shetland Archipelago. After a detailed morphological analysis and comparison, the unknown taxon is described as Luticola puchalskiana sp. nov. The new species can be separated from other Luticola species based on its valve dimensions, stria density and the shape of both central and terminal raphe endings. Two populations of the new taxon were observed in samples collected from terrestrial habitats. The morphology of Luticola puchalskiana is elaborately described and illustrated using both light and scanning electron microscopy observations. A comparison is made with a large number of other morphologically similar Luticola species from the entire (sub)Antarctic Region.