Olifantiella mascarenica Riaux-Gobin & Compère

Lobban, Christopher S. & Witkowski, Andrzej, 2023, Marine benthic diatoms of Guam: new records, Dictyoneis apapae sp. nov., and updates to the checklist, Micronesica 2023 (2), pp. 1-75 : 12

Olifantiella mascarenica Riaux-Gobin & Compère Figs 79, 80

Ref. illus.: Riaux-Gobin & Compère 2009, figs 6–22; Riaux-Gobin 2015, figs 24, 25

Sample: GU52G-A

Dimensions: Valve 9.3 µm long x 2.3 µm wide; striae 50 in 10 µm.

Diagnostics: This species differs from O. pilosella Riaux-Gobin in the shape of the buciniportula, which here is a single trumpet.

Comments: Olifantiella spp. are barely discernable in LM, and the details are at the limit even of the desktop SEM. These images were taken at U. Texas on a full-sized SEM.

Figures

Figures 71–80. Moreneis, Nitzschia and Olifantiella. SEM except Fig. 71. Figs 71–74. Moreneis hexagona. Fig. 71. Valve in LM (DIC). Fig. 72. Valve exterior, showing isolated pores at the Voigt faults (arrows). Fig. 73. Valve exterior detail showing central raphe endings characteristic of the genus and c-shaped areolae. Fig. 74. Valve interior. Figs 75–78. Nitzschia incurva. Figs 75, 76. Guam voucher frustules at different angles. Figs 77, 78. Yap specimens showing interior and details of areolae. Figs 79, 80. Olifantiella mascarenica frustule showing the characteristic buciniportula (arrow). Scale bars: Fig 75 = 10 µm, Figs 71, 72, 74, 76, 77 = 5 µm, Figs 73, 78 = 2 µm, Figs 79, 80 = 1 µm.