Marine benthic diatoms of Guam: new records, Dictyoneis apapae sp. nov., and updates to the checklist
Author
Lobban, Christopher S.
Division of Natural Sciences, University of Guam, Mangilao, GU 96923, USA clobban @ triton. uog. edu
clobban@triton.uog.edu
Author
Witkowski, Andrzej
University of Szczecin, Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences Mickiewicza 16 a, PL 70 - 383 Szczecin, Poland
text
Micronesica
2023
2024-06-06
2023
2
1
75
journal article
299061
10.5281/zenodo.12118784
2b921c3c-8618-439e-96da-1de9c66a90f9
0026-279X
12118784
Dictyoneis apapae
Lobban
,
sp. nov.
Figs 44–50, 52–55, 57, 58
Diagnosis: Differing from
Dictyoneis marginata
in the broadly lanceolate outline, absence of field of small pseudoloculi around the central area, and smaller outer openings of the pseudoloculi, especially along the margin.
Holotype
:
Specimen
at 10.2 mm E and 6.0 mm S of the mark on slide 3056, deposited at
Diatom Collection
,
Academy of
Natural Sciences of Drexel University
,
Philadelphia
, accession number
GC20106
.
Fig. 44
.
Type locality:
Guam
, Apra Harbor, Scuba Beach, 13°27.840', 144°39.360', scarce in biofilm on calcareous sand ca.
10 m
deep, in communities with
Arcuatasigma
spp.
(
Lobban & Reid 2018
),
Progonoia
spp.
(
Lobban 2015b
), and several species listed below. Sample GU52X-5b,
10 May 2015
, coll.
C.S. Lobban & M. Schefter
Etymology: Apapa, genitive noun in apposition, for the
type
locality in Apra Harbor, not far from Cabras Island.
Ayong (2023)
explains that, “Apra is a corruption of the Chamorro word ‘
apapa
’ which means ‘low.’
Apapa
is the original name for what is now known as Cabras Island.”
Morphology: Valves broadly lanceolate (
Figs 44–46
), 94–115 µm long, 22–26 µm wide, outer pseudoloculi in rows giving apparent stria density, especially in LM, of
8–12 in
10 µm, (
Figs 44, 45
) but true striae measured on interior views
24–26 in
10 µm (
Figs 52, 55
). External raphe slits straight, bordered by thin ridges of silica (
Fig. 48
, arrow), terminal endings deflected in opposite directions. Inner layer of pores completely overlain by pseudoloculate framework forming larger pores, except in a variable zone near the sternum and at the apices where the outer openings are also small (
Figs 48, 49
and cf. fracture wall,
Fig. 54
). The outermost areolae are very large and in LM give the impression of chambers (cf.
Mastogloia
) (
Figs 44, 45
) but are simply part of the outer layer (
Figs 46
, 47,49). There is also a long groove on each side in the outer layer near the apex (
Figs 47
,
50, 57
).
Figs 50 and 51
compare exterior features of the new species with a specimen of
D. marginata
(F.W.Lewis) Cleve
from
Georgia
. Interior surface shows regular striae opening by transapical slits (
Figs 52–55
); many short striae and a few longer ones are interpolated on the mantle forming a denser fringe (32 striae in 10 µm), followed by a hyaline border (
Fig. 53
). Raphe bordered by thick ribs, central and terminal endings simple, the latter with a very small helictoglossa. Wall structure (
Fig. 54
) shows deep pseudoloculate outer network over the basal striate layer.
Figs 55 and 56
compare the similar internal surfaces of the new species with
D. marginata
. Girdle bands (
Figs 47
,
57, 58
): copulae open: valvocopula with deep notch at the closed end filled by ligula on 3
rd
copula (
Fig 57
, arrow), with two rows of pores along advalvar edge, scattered pores/pits elsewhere; two other copulae with similar structure.
Additional records:
GUAM
: GU52V-1! (biofilm);
YAP
,
FSM
: Y-D2 (seagrass leaves)
Registration: http://phycobank.org/104437
Comments:
Dictyoneis apapae
differs markedly from
D. marginata
[
Hustedt 1931
–1959, p. 576, fig. 1009;
Montgomery 1978
pl. 81C–F;
Round et al. 1990 p. 468
(implicitly showing
D. marginata
);
Hein et al. 2008
, p. 51, pl. 26, fig 2, pl. 27 fig. 1] but there seem to be additional discrepancies among the images in the literature. The apical groove in
Round et al. (1990)
is long like that in
D. apapae
, and they also note that the external raphe slits are bordered by thin ridges of silica, which can be seen in our images of
D. apapae
but not in our
D. marginata
specimens (
Figs 50
vs. 51). Moreover,
Round et al. (1990
, p. 469, fig. h) show thick transverse costae and note that “the small poroids of the inner layer are difficult to distinguish because of the strong development of the ribs,” a description that does not fit
D. apapae
(
Fig. 54
) or even our
Georgia
specimens (
Fig. 56
). These seem to be small discrepancies compared to the differences in the central area, marginal pore size and constriction (the latter two used by
Cleve 1890
as taxonomic criteria); we are therefore confident that the
Guam
species cannot be included in
D. marginata
, but not so confident in our identification of the
D. marginata
specimen.
When
Cleve (1890)
erected the genus, he provided a key to the known species, of which only two were lanceolate, and only one of those had marginal pores larger than the ones on the valve face, that was
D. thrumii
Cleve
, described in the same article. However, he gave no drawings and the description, based on a single specimen from a sea cucumber gut in
China
, mentions little of the structure. His valve was larger than our specimens, 150 µm long, 32 µm wide.
Montgomery (1978
, pl. 81A, B) showed an unnamed lanceolate species from Florida with broad semilanceolate zones of smaller pseudoloculi on each side of the raphe, clearly different from ours. There is need for further study of this genus, and the assertion by
Round et al. (1990
, p. 468) that, “only the
type
[species] is recorded at all frequently” should not be a license for assigning every constricted specimen to
D. marginata
.