Three new Luticola D.G.Mann (Bacillariophyta) species from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) found in terrestrial diatom assemblages dominated by widely distributed taxa

PeerJ

article

Łukasz Peszek¹  Mateusz Rybak¹  Horst Lange-Bertalot²  John Patrick Kociolek³  Andrzej Witkowski⁴ 

[1] Department of Agroecology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Land Management and Environmental Protection, University of Rzeszów;Institute of Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Goethe University;Museum of Natural History and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado;Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Szczecin

关键词: SE Pacific;    Oceanic Islands;    Easter Island;    Endemism;    Aerophytic diatoms;    Biogeography;    Luticola;    Diatoms;    Bacillariophyceae;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.11142

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundRapa Nui (Easter Island = Isla de Pasqua) is of volcanic origin, best known for about 900 man-made stone statues known as moai. It is one of the most isolated inhabited islands on Earth and studies on the diatoms of Rapa Nui are very few.MethodsLight (LM) and electron microscopic (SEM) observations of a single sample collected from Rapa Nui are presented. The samples (mix of soil and organic detritus) were collected from ground of cave entrance.ResultsThe samples were characterized by low diatom diversity and strongly dominated by terrestrial (soil) forms. Among the taxa present in the material studied were cosmopolitan forms of the genera Humidophila, Nitzschia, Angusticopula, Orthoseira, Tryblionella and Luticola. Whereas most of taxa of the enumerated genera were identifiable, only one among four Luticola species distinguished in the samples studied was identified. This taxon was L. ectorii, a cosmopolitan species known previously from South America (Brazil) and Asia (China). The three remaining species could not be assigned to any established species. Therefore, based on external and internal morphological features from light and scanning electron microscopic analysis, we describe here three species new to science, including: L. georgzizkae, L. rapanuiensis and L. moaiorum. All three taxa new to science are compared to established Luticola species and their significance for the global distribution of the genus is discussed.

【 授权许可】

CC BY