Dlium

NEWS - Lake Van diatom ( Halamphora vantushpaensis Yilmaz, Solak & Gastineau, sp. nov.), a new diatom species discovered in the highly alkaline Lake Van in Eastern Turkey (Türkiye) based on light and scanning electron microscopy analysis, and a genome-skimming approach that provided access to the complete sequences of the nuclear rRNA gene cluster, mitochondrial and plastid genomes. Lake Van is the largest soda lake in the world with saline (21.4‰) and alkaline (155 m mEq-1, pH 9.81) water. The lake has existed for 600,000 years, spanning several glacial-interglacial cycles and hosting endemic fish species. However, studies on the phytoplankton flora of the lake, and in particular on diatoms, are still very rare. In recent years, new investigations have been carried out using an integrative approach combining light/scanning electron microscopy (LM/SEM) and molecular phylogeny derived from sequencing results. With these data, 3 new species have been discovered and described, Nitzsc...

NEWS - Researchers explored marine benthic diatoms from coral reef areas and reported 2 new genera with 7 new species: Paracatenula porostriata sp. nov., Wallaceago porostriatus sp. nov., Catenula boyanensis sp. nov., Catenula komodensis sp. nov., Catenula decusa sp. nov., Catenula densitystriata sp. nov. and Catenulopsis baweana sp. nov. Catenulaceae was originally described by Mereschkowsky (1902) for Catenula pelagica and later moved Navicula adhaerens Mereschkowsky to Catenula. The name Catenulaceae comes from the Latin words catēna and ula which literally mean small chain. Indonesia is recorded as an area with high marine biodiversity, especially when considering three large tropical ecosystems: seagrass beds, mangrove forests and coral reefs. Samples for this study were taken from remote areas of Bawean Island and Tomini Bay in Central Sulawesi. False catenula diatom (Paracatenula Witkowski, Luthfi & M.Rybak, gen. nov.) gets its name from its resemblance to Catenula....

NEWS - Researchers describe a benthic diatom found in the intertidal mudflats of South Korea, based on morphological and molecular characteristics, similarities and differences between Hampyeong Bay diatom ( Halamphora hampyeongensis sp. nov.) and other morphologically similar Halamphora species. Several molecular phylogenetic studies provide strong evidence supporting the monophyletic status of Halamphora as a distinct group separate from Amphora sensu stricto. Since its recognition as a genus, there has been an increase in understanding of the diversity within Halamphora. Furthermore, there has been a significant increase in the determination of new species. The genus includes 155 valid species, including 8 varieties. Sung Min An from the National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea in Seocheon and his team used light and electron microscopy to conduct morphological examinations of the new species isolated from the intertidal mudflats of Hampyeong Bay, South Korea. Molecular anal...

NEWS - A new species, Shun river diatom ( Ulnaria shun-biseriata ), was discovered in Hunan Province, southern China, described based on light and scanning electron microscopy observations with the characteristics of lanceolate valve lines, apical valve crests, slightly wavy valve margins, mostly biseriate striae, variable central areas, and closed valvocopules. The specific epithet shun-biseriata is a combination of the Shun River and the adjective biseriate to reflect the type locality and the character of the mostly biseriate striae. The new species is only known from the type locality with a relative abundance of about 1%. Samples were scraped from rock surfaces collected in the Shun River. This benthic epilithic species is related to Gyrosigma kuetzingii (Grunow) Cleve, Encyonema appalachianum Potapova, Pinnularia subgibba Krammer, P. borealis Ehrenberg, Gomphonema berggrenii Cleve, Epithemia spp., Nitzschia spp., Iconella spp., and others. Environmental parameters with condu...

NEWS - Researchers describe a new species of monoraphid diatom, Planothidium pseudolinkei , from the coast of Guangxi using light and scanning electron microscopy. This species is distinguished from other species by the morphological features of capitate apices, multiseriate striae, small central areas on raphe valves, and oval sinuses on valves without raphes. Planothidium is a species-rich genus and is widely distributed in freshwater, brackish and marine environments. Most are found in freshwater habitats and only a few taxa are marine or brackish species, but the species diversity in marine environments is thought to be higher than previously reported. Several recently discovered marine Planothidium species such as P. galaicum , P. juandenovense and P. kaetherobertianum have symmetrical central areas, but the density of striae is often not useful for distinguishing species with similar cavities or sinuses. Researchers from Guangxi Academy of Sciences in Nanning, Guangxi Univers...

NEWS - Aquatic life is very metropolitan with a variety of small plankton and plays an important role as a starting point in the food cycle to support the survival of larger species above it up to the very large fin whale ( Balaenoptera physalus ). Recently Bejder el al (2024) placed humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) as one of the sophisticated animals that created and modified tools for hunting prey in the form of bubble nets , meanwhile Shoham et al (2024) reported Theonella conica and Entotheonella symbiosis produces high levels of poison to repel predators . The coevolution of predators and prey plays a major role in shaping the pelagic region and may have significant implications for marine ecosystems and nutrient cycling dynamics. Siliceous diatom frustules are often assumed to have co-evolved with silica-coated copepod teeth, but empirical evidence on how this relationship drives natural selection and evolution is lacking. Is the predator-prey arms race a driving for...