Aulacoseira kruegeriana (Diatomeae, Coscinodiscophyceae): a new centric diatom from high-elevation Andean rivers and streams of Bolivia

Abstract

A new centric diatom, Aulacoseira kruegeriana sp. nov., collected from small streams in the Yungas (cloud forest) region of Bolivia, is described based on light and electron microscopy. The new species is morphologically similar to Aulacoseira principissa Van de Vijver, A. alpigena (Grunow) Krammer, A. ambigua (Grunow) Simonsen, A. gessneri (Hustedt) Simonsen, A. laevissima (Grunow in Van Heurck) Krammer, A. lirata (Ehrenberg) Ross, and A. nygaardii (Camburn) Camburn & D.F. Charles. However, it is distinguished by its finer frustule structure, presence and features of separation and linking spines, density of areolae, rotae as mostly three-point bars, a solid and thick ringleist and indistinctly sigmoid mantle striae. Aulacoseira kruegeriana is the first new species of Aulacoseira. Thwaites reported from Bolivia. However, the literature on centric diatoms in this country is currently scarce and, as more research is conducted on streams and lakes, it is likely that additional novel centric diatoms will be discovered.

Keywords:

• Aulacoseira kruegeriana sp. nov.
• Bacillariophyta
• morphology
• South America
• taxonomy
• valve ultrastructure

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Marina Potapova, Peter Siver and Luc Ector for early discussions on the identity of the new taxon presented herein. We thank Marie Cantino, the late Jim Romanow (Electron Microscopy Laboratory, University of Connecticut) and Jiří Vaněček (Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, České Budějovice) for help with SEM analyses. This article is dedicated to the memory of Ana María Krüger Revollo for her indefatigable labour in training biologists, agronomists and medical doctors over four decades at Mayor de San Simón University in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Agronomy Engineer Krüger was a founding professor of the Biology Career and its Genetics Program at the mentioned university, only two of her many major contributions to the development of biological sciences in Bolivia.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding

This project was partially supported by the institutional long-term research development project No. AV0Z60050516 funded by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.