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Abstract
Two new species of Mastogloia, M. abnormis and M. descrepata, are described from the saline Sawa Lake, in South Iraq. These species belong to the Mastogloia section Sulcatae, which is characterized by the presence of a central furrow on the external valve face. Descriptions of these species are based on light microscope (LM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) features that distinguish them from other taxa. Mastogloia abnormis exhibits few morphological features that are not shared by any described species in the genus, while M. descrepata is similar to, but distinct from, M. vestigiostriata, M. belaensis, and M. braunii. Both taxa were found as epiphytes on the submerged Lamprothamnium sp. that is dominant on the bottom of Sawa Lake. Environmental conditions where the species were common included high salinity and elevated concentrations of calcium sulphate (gypsum). The ecology of these new species is discussed.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the Marine Science Centre, Basra for providing field and laboratory equipment. The first author wishes to express his gratitude to Prof. J. Dixon and Prof. C. Hu of the Faculty of Marine Science, University of South Florida for their invitation to visit and use the faculty facilities to accomplish this work. Thanks are also due to Mr Tony Greco, University of South Florida (USF), USA, for his help in SEM. The authors extend their thanks to anonymous reviewers for improving the manuscript, to the Editors of the Journal for kind follow-up and remarks, and to Dr Thomas Frankovich for language correction.