Luticola centraloporea sp. nov.—a new diatom (Bacillariophyceae: Diadesmidaceae) species from Europe and North America Journal Article

Overview

Among the diatoms of the genus Luticola D.G.Mann, many have elliptical and linear-elliptic valves. Most of these species have been incorrectly identified in the past as the brackish water taxon Luticola mutica. In the present work, we describe a new terrestrial species—Luticola centraloporea sp. nov. The species has a similar outline to Luticola mutica but is distinguished from all other similar taxa in the genus due to the unique position of the isolated pore, which is located practically in the middle of the valves. The new taxon was observed with two populations, one from North America, and a second one from Europe, suggesting that it may actually have a wide distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. The new species is compared with morphologically similar species of the genus.