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 spectabilis Gregory (1857: 516) ( Fig. 89 ) References : Hendey, 1964 , pl. 28, figs 8, 9; Desikachary 1988 , pl. 425, figs 1,4–6; Witkowski et al. 2000 , p. 150, pl. 167, figs 25–27; Levkov, 2009 : p. 265, Pl. 114, figs 1–5; Pl. 252, figs 1–5. Features : Length 60–76 μm, width 12–14 μm, striae 8–10 in 10 μm on the dorsal side, 12–14 in 10 μm on the ventral side. Description : Valves dorsiventral, linear to semi-elliptic with broadly rounded, ventrally bent apices. Dorsal margin weakly convex to straight, ventral margin straight. Axial area strongly arched, biarcuate, central area narrow on the dorsal side and broader on the ventral side. Raphe strongly arched with indistinct proximal pores. Dorsal striae distinct, bifurcated near the raphe, particularly at the middle. Remarks : Smaller valve with slightly higher striae density were observed. Ecology and Distribution: Widely distributed marine species. Previously reported from the Gulf ( Hendey 1970 , Al-Yamani & Saburova 2011). Frequent in Basra corals.