Studies in the Diatom Genus Hantzschia 3. Infraspecific Variation in H. virgata
- 1 March 1981
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Annals of Botany
- Vol. 47 (3) , 377-395
- https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.aob.a086030
Abstract
Infraspecific variation has been investigated in the marine epipelic diatom Hantzschia virgata using light and electron microscopy. Although the variation pattern in this species is complex and to some extent discontinuous, allowing the recognition on phenetic grounds of four or five discrete infraspecific taxa including vars. virgata (= H. insolita), gracilis, leptocephala (= capitellata) and wittii (= intermedia), it is concluded that to split the species would be imprudent. Variation has been found not only in characters such as valve outline and size, or stria density, but also in ‘qualitative’ characters such as raphe, fibula and girdle structure, characters which have often been assumed to be constant within species, genera or taxa of higher rank: previous generalizations about the usefulness of certain characters in distinguishing taxa of a given rank are seen to have been incautious.Keywords
This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
- PERSISTENT, VERTICAL-MIGRATION RHYTHMS IN BENTHIC MICROFLORA. VI. THE TIDAL AND DIURNAL NATURE OF THE RHYTHM IN THE DIATOM HANTZSCHIA VIRGATAThe Biological Bulletin, 1967
- THE DIATOM GENUS CYLINDROTHECA RABENHORSTJournal of the Royal Microscopical Society, 1964
- XIV.—On some New Species of Nitzschia.*Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society, 1880