IMIS - Marine Onderzoeksgroepen

During a survey of diatoms present in tidal pools on the coasts of Livingston Island (South Shetland Islands), we found several populations, belonging presumably to the Antarctic endemic Craspedostauros laevissimus. Further analyses using light microscopy revealed that the populations show differences in stria density. Following scanning electron microscopy observations, only part of the investigated populations could be assigned to C. laevissimus, whereas the others are sufficiently morphologically different based on stria density and their cribrate areolae structure to be described as a new species: Craspedostauros confusus sp. nov. The new taxon is compared with known, morphologically similar, Craspedostauros taxa. The paper presents morphological and ecological data for both taxa discussed in the study. A detailed survey of the early Antarctic literature showed that the Craspedostauros taxa in Antarctica have convoluted taxonomic histories and that the new taxon has likely been hidden for long within the variability of C. laevissimus.