Abstract
Abstract Polymorphism in the desmid, Arthrodesmus mucronulatus Nordst., is here studied, based on material from two dIfferent localities in the State of Sao Paulo, southern Brazil, and one locality in the State of Pernambuco, north-eastern Brazil. A detailed examination of almost 900 cells allowed the author to make the following conclusions. (1) The species varies in shape .and ornamentation in the field, different forms being found even in a single collection from one habitat; (2) the universally accepted morphological characteristics for differentiation on infraspecific taxa of A. mucronulatus seem to have no taxonomic significance when based only on examination of isolated individuals; (3) A. mucronulatus Nordst. var. mucronulatus, A. mucronulatus var. robustum West & West, A mucronulatus var. evolutus Borge, and A. mucronulatus f. depauperatum Gronbl. are merely portions of the morphological expression of a sIngle natural population and are to be considered synonymous from a nomenclatural point of view.
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