Anabaena fuscovaginata (Nostocales), a new cyanobacterial species from periphyton of the freshwater alkaline marsh of Everglades, South Florida, USA.

Abstract

A new species of the nostocalean genus Anabaena was discovered in periphytic cyanobacterial mats of the Everglades marsh, South Florida, USA. In some of the 10 samples where it occurred, the species dominated the cyanobacterial community, however, it was always part of a rich assemblage of microbiota, including many types characteristic for alkaline herbaceous wetlands of Caribbean America or freshwater tropical marshes. On the basis of typical morphological traits and occurrence in a periphytic habitat, I suggest that the species is a member of the genus Anabaena in its original sense, valid after recent separation of planktic taxa. As the most distinctive morphological feature, it has firm, coloured sheaths that have never been reported for this genus before.