Authors

Adil Y Al-Handal, Michael J Sullivan, Thomas A Frankovich, Angela K Wulff

Researchers have described two new marine diatom species from Antarctica—Pseudogomphonema minutum and Pseudogomphonema gracile—found living epiphytically on the red alga Georgiella confluens at Potter Cove, King George Island. Using light and electron microscopy, Al-Handal and colleagues detailed the species’ distinctive valve shapes, raphe structures, and band arrangements, expanding knowledge of Antarctic marine microflora. Pseudogomphonema minutum is noted for its small, heteropolar valves and lack of pseudosepta, while P. gracile is slender with a coarse striae density and a partially developed pseudoseptum. Their discovery highlights the hidden biodiversity of Antarctic benthic ecosystems and suggests that many undescribed diatom taxa likely await discovery in these cold, marine environments, contributing to a broader understanding of diatom evolution, endemism, and biogeography in polar regions .

(Photo of Pseudogomphonema minutum courtesy of Adil Y Al-Handal)