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Issue: Vol. 737 No. 4: 16 Jan. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-01-16
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.737.4.2
Page range: 214-224
Abstract views: 31
PDF downloaded: 2

Hantzschia djiboutiensis (Bacillariophyceae, Bacillariales)—a new taxon from an ephemeral pond in Djibouti

T.I. Vyazemsky Karadag Scientific Station, Natural Reserve of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nauki street, 24, 298188, Kurortnoe, Feodosiya, Russia
Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071 Moscow, Russia
Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071 Moscow, Russia
Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071 Moscow, Russia
Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, 109, 152742, Yaroslavl Region, Russia
University of Djibouti, Street Djanaleh, B.P. 1904, Djibouti
Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Prospect 33, 119071 Moscow, Russia
Hantzschia electron microscopy molecular phylogeny morphology new species Algae

Abstract

This study describes a new diatom species of the genus Hantzschia Grunow 1877 from the Republic of Djibouti (Northeast Africa), investigated using light and electron microscopy and molecular phylogeny. Phylogenetic analysis based on concatenated datasets of partial nuclear-encoded SSU and LSU rDNA and plastid-encoded rbcL genes placed Hantzschia djiboutiensis sp. nov. in a distinct clade within a larger group containing H. amphioxys, H. stepposa, and H. belgica. Morphological analysis of the two strains from Djibouti using light and scanning electron microscopy revealed similarities to the aforementioned species, as well as differences in valve shape and dimensions, striae and fibulae count, and areolae density. Hantzschia djiboutiensis sp. nov., together with H. amphioxys, H. stepposa, and H. belgica, represents a group of Hantzschia species in which internal central raphe endings are deflected in opposite directions. Hantzschia djiboutiensis sp. nov. was found in a single temporary water body within a desert environment.

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How to Cite

Podunay, Y.A., Gusev, E.S., Martynenko, N.A., Neplyukhina, A.A., Shkurina, N.A., Waais, I.O. & Efeykin, B.D. (2026) Hantzschia djiboutiensis (Bacillariophyceae, Bacillariales)—a new taxon from an ephemeral pond in Djibouti. Phytotaxa 737 (4): 214–224. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.737.4.2