Meridion
Agardh 1824 Category: Araphid
TYPE SPECIES: Meridion vernale Agardh
CLASS: Fragilariophyceae
ORDER: Fragilariales
FAMILY: Fragilariaceae
- Frustule club-shaped in valve view
- Frustule wedge-shaped in girdle view
- Cells join at the foot pole to form fan-shaped colonies
- Septae appear as thickened bands in valve view
Frustules of Meridion are club shaped in valve view and wedge shaped in girdle view. Septae (attached to girdle elements) are present. An apical porefield is present at one end. Valves may have 2 rimoportulae. Cells form fan-shaped colonies. Chloroplasts are multiple and plate-like in living cells.
Meridion includes the common species, M. circulare and M. anceps. Some species have been considered as species of Diatoma, based on the presence of septae.
Cite This Page:
Spaulding, S., and Edlund, M. (2009). Meridion. In Diatoms of the United States. Retrieved May 20, 2013, from http://westerndiatoms.colorado.edu/taxa/genus/Meridion
Contributor: Sarah Spaulding | Mark Edlund - January 2009
Reviewer: Sam Rushforth
Citations
Brant, L.A. (2003). A new species of Meridion (Bacillariophyceae) from western North Carolina. Southeastern Naturalist 2: 409–418.
Kingston, J.C. (2003). Araphid and Monoraphid Diatoms. In: Freshwater Algae of North America. Ecology and Classification (J.D. Wehr and R.G. Sheath, eds). Elsevier Science pp. 595-636.
Patrick, R.M. and Reimer, C.W. (1966). The Diatoms of the United States exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii, V. 1. Monographs of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 13.
Rhode, K.M, Pappas, J.L. and Stoermer, E.F. (2001). Quantitative analysis of shape variation in type and modern populations of Meridion Ag. Journal of Phycology 37: 175-183.
Williams, D.M. (1985). Morphology, taxonomy and inter-relationships of the ribbed araphid diatoms from the genera Diatoma and Meridion (Diatomaceae: Bacillariophyta). Bibliotheca Diatomologica 8: 1-228.