Cymbella schmidtii Grunow transferred to Cymbopleura schmidtii (Grunow) Stenger-Kovács nov. comb. – a rare diatom species occurring in Lake Balaton (Hungary)

Abstract

Taxonomic guides to a rare diatom species, Cymbella schmidtii Grunow, were reviewed because of a number of misunderstandings and insufficient documentation of this species. Accurate and detailed taxonomic features were described based on morphology (in light microscopy) and fine structure (in scanning electron microscopy), and the species was transferred to another genus, Cymbopleura (Krammer) Krammer. Not only were the morphological features clarified, but also the species distribution and occurrence as well. Cells of Cymbopleura schmidtii Stenger-Kovács nov. comb. occur as solitary individuals. The species was found in the littoral region of Lake Balaton (Hungary). It is not abundant, but is a characteristic diatom species of the lake, and is not restricted only to recent samples, but occurs also in fossil materials.

Keywords:

• diatom
• Cymbopleura
• morphology
• lake
• Water Framework Directive

Acknowledgements

We thank Anton Igerheim, the curator of the Grunow diatom collection in Natural History Musem, Vienna for his help in the examination of the original Grunow slides and drawings. This study was supported by the Hungarian National Science Foundation (OTKA Nr. K 75552).