Two new diatom species of the genus Gomphonemopsis (Bacillariophyceae) from the coast of China and two new combinations for the genus

Abstract

Two new diatom species belonging to the genus Gomphonemopsis are described, Gomphonemopsis nana sp. nov. and Gomphonemopsis gaoi sp. nov. These two species were compared in detail with congeners. Gomphonemopsis nana is distinguished by its high stria density and small size. This species was found so far to be epiphytic only on the eelgrass collected from Qingdao Bay (Yellow Sea). Gomphonemopsis gaoi is characterized by its isopolar valves, simple proximal raphe endings and acutely rounded apices. This taxon was separated from the exoskeleton of marine copepods sampled from the Futian Mangrove Nature Reserve (South China Sea). In addition, two new combinations, Gomphonemopsis oahuensis (Hustedt) Lang Li, Yuhang Li & Changping Chen, comb. nov. and Gomphonemopsis platypus (Østrup) Lang Li, Yuhang Li & Junxiang Lai, comb. nov. are proposed. This study increases the records and knowledge of Gomphonemopsis along the coast of China.