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 Diploneis smithii (Brébisson) Cleve (1894: 96) ( Fig. 40 ) References : Hendey 1964 , pl. 32, fig. 10; Krammer & Lange-Bertalot 1986 , p. 291, pl. 112, figs 2–4; Witkowski et al. 2000 , p. 193, pl. 90, figs 7, 15, pl. 91, figs 1, 2; Lobban et al. 2012 , pl. 45, figs 3–6, pl., fig. 1; Pennesi et al. 2017, p. 205, figs 32–38. Features : Length 42–60 μm, width 16–20 μm, striae 8–10 in 10 μm. Description : Valves broadly elliptical with rounded apices. Raphe branches straight, ending centrally in simple pores. Central nodule apically dilated. Axial area narrow, longitudinal canals linear, slightly expanded in the middle. Transapical striae parallel, becoming strongly radiate near the apices. Remarks : A rather variable species with several varieties described. The common feature which separate D. smithii from closely related taxa such as D. fusca (Gregory) Cleve (1894: 93) and D. nitescens (Gregory) Cleve (1894: 97) is the undivided striae, which are formed of double rows of alternating areolae (pores). Ecology and Distribution: A widely distributed species in all marine coasts and in inland brackish waters. Previously reported from the Gulf ( Hendey 1970 , Al-Handal 2009 , Al-Yamani & Saburova 2011). Common in Basra corals.