Marine benthic diatoms in the newly discovered coral reefs, off Basra coast, Southern Iraq Author Al-Handal, Adil Y. Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Author Thomas, Evan W. Biology Department, Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove, Illinois, USA Author Pennesi, Chiara Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italia text Phytotaxa 2018 2018-10-12 372 2 111 152 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.372.2.1 journal article 10.11646/phytotaxa.372.2.1 1179-3163 13728822 Amphora cingulata Cleve in A. Schmidt et al . (1875: pl. 25, fig. 17) ( Fig. 70 ) References : A. Schmidt 1875, pl. 25, fig. 17; Peragallo and Peragallo 1897 –1908, pl. 48, fig.7, pl. 49, fig. 6.; Wachinka & Gaiser 2007, p. 436, Fig. 189. Features : Length 50–72 μm, width 11–14 μm, striae 22–24 in 10 μm on both sides. Description : Valves linear with broadly rounded apices. Dorsal margin convex, ventral margin straight and slightly convex in the middle. Raphe branches arched with distal endings ventrally bent, axial area very narrow, central area very small, sometimes undistinguished. Striae fine, parallel, becoming slightly radiate near the ends. Near the center, a narrow fascia reaching valve margin interrupts striae. Remarks : The more arcuate dorsal margin and more distinct puncta differentiate this species from the similar species Amphora ocellata Donkin (1861: 11) . Ecology and Distribution: More common in tropical warm water but also recorded from temperate regions (Hendey 1974, Whitton et al. 2003 ). Not recorded previously from the Gulf. Frequent in Basra corals.