A recent detailed survey of the Maritime Antarctic diatom flora using a fine-grained taxonomy resulted in the description of many new species of Pinnularia in general and the section Distantes, including the P. borealis species complex, in particular. Moreover, DNA-based studies of P. borealis revealed that many more species need to be described within this complex. During a survey of the freshwater littoral diatom flora of James Ross Island (Ulu Peninsula) and Vega Island in Maritime Antarctica, a previously unknown chain-forming species in the P. borealis species complex of section Distantes was cultured from three different localities. Molecular phylogenies based on the nuclear-encoded D1–D3 large-subunit ribosomal DNA and plastid rbcL genes revealed that all cultures belong to a distinct highly supported lineage within the P. borealis species complex. Pinnularia catenaborealis sp. nov. is characterised by the presence of small spines located on a raised, thin silica ridge that almost entirely surrounds the valve face near the valve face/mantle junction, and the presence of small silica plates near the apices. In culture, P. catenaborealis formed chains of several tens of cells and in oxidised natural material, chains up to seven frustules were observed. Pinnularia catenaborealis is described from the littoral zone of freshwater Black Lake (Ulu Peninsula, James Ross Island) and has also been observed on nearby Vega Island. Although P. borealis is generally regarded as a (semi-)terrestrial diatom complex mainly occurring in (moist) soils and mosses, P. catenaborealis was found in freshwater habitats with an alkaline pH and low conductivity. |
