Revision of the genus Navicula s.s. (Bacillariophyceae) in inland waters of the Sub-Antarctic and Antarctic with the description of five new species

Abstract

Van de Vijver B., Zidarova R., Sterken M., Verleyen E., de Haan M., Vyverman W., Hinz F. and Sabbe K. 2011. Revision of the genus Navicula s.s. (Bacillariophyceae) in inland waters of the Sub-Antarctic and Antarctic with the description of five new species. Phycologia 50: 281–297. DOI: 10.2216/10-49.1A revision of the diatom genus Navicula s.s. in inland water samples from the Sub-Antarctic and Antarctic resulted in the description of five new species, viz. Navicula australoshetlandica Van de Vijver sp. nov., N. dobrinatemniskovae Zidarova & Van de Vijver sp. nov., N. cremeri Van de Vijver & Zidarova sp. nov., N. conveyi Van de Vijver sp. nov. and Navicula bicephaloides Van de Vijver & Zidarova sp. nov. The new species are extensively compared with other similar species. The morphology and taxonomy of three other Navicula taxa present in the same materials are briefly discussed. A critical revision of literature reports of Navicula taxa in the Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic region indicates that despite the large number of records the genus is rather species-poor in the Sub-Antarctic and Antarctic. From a biogeographical point of view, there is a clear separation between the Sub-Antarctic localities in the southern Indian Ocean and the islands in the southern Atlantic Ocean, with several species showing a restricted biogeography.