Neidium
Pfitzer 1871 Category: Symmetrical biraphid
TYPE SPECIES: Neidium affine (Ehrenberg) Pfitzer
Image Credit: Marina Potapova and Teofil Nakov
CLASS: Bacillariophyceae
ORDER: Naviculales
FAMILY: Neidiaceae
- Longitudinal lines evident
- Proximal raphe ends bilaterally deflected, or straight
- Striae uniseriate
- Apical flap often present
Neidium valves are linear to linear elliptical. Ends are variable in shape across species and may be rounded, capitate, rostrate or protracted. Longitudinal lines are present, formed by internal canals positioned along the valve margins. The proximal raphe ends are bilaterally deflected or straight. In many species, the distal raphe ends appear to bifurcate, forming an apical flap. Interruptions in the striae, or Voigt discontinuities, are frequently present in Neidium. Voigt discontinuities are positioned on the secondary side of the axial area along each raphe branch. The striae are uniseriate and composed of rounded, distinct areolae. Two plastids are present in living cells, positioned against the girdle.
Neidium is rarely abundant in collections, but the genus is broadly distributed. Neidium species often grow in slightly acid waters.
Cite This Page:
Spaulding, S., and Edlund, M. (2009). Neidium. In Diatoms of the United States. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://westerndiatoms.colorado.edu/taxa/genus/Neidium
Contributor: Sarah Spaulding | Mark Edlund - January 2009
Reviewer: Sam Rushforth
Citations
Hamilton, P.B., McNeely, R. and Poulin, M. (1996). The morphology and distribution of Neidium distincte-punctatum Hustedt and its systematic position within the genus. Diatom Research 11: 59-71.
Hamilton, P.B. Poulin, M. and Taylor, M.C. (1990). Neidium alpinum var. quadripunctatum (Hustedt) comb. nov., an importat acidobiontic taxon from northeastern North America. Diatom Research 5: 289-299.
Hamilton, P.B., Poulin, M. and Walker, D. (1995). Neidium hitchcockii (Ehrenberg) Cleve a morphologically complex taxon within the genus Neidium (Naviculales: Bacillariphyta). In: A Century of Diatom Research in North America: A Tribute to the Distinguished Careers of Charles W. Reimer and Ruth Patrick 61-77.
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.
Reimer, C.W. (1959). The diatom genus Neidium. I. New species, new records, and taxonomic revisions. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 111: 1-36. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4064504
Reimer, C.W. (1961). Some aspects of the diatom flora of Cabin Creek raised bog, Randolf Co., Indiana. Proceeding of the Indiana Academy of Sciences 71: 305-319.
Siver, P.A., Hamilton, P.B., Stachura-Suchoples, K. and Kociolek, J.P. (2005). Diatoms of North America. The Freshwater Flora of Cape Cod. Iconographia Diatomologica 14: 1-463.
Stachura-Suchoples, K., Kociolek, J.P. and Siver, P.A. (2010). Neidium palpebrum sp. nov., a new diatom from Florida (U.S.A.): comparison with N. sacoense Reimer, and some remarks on biogeography. Diatom Research 25: 385-395.
Stoermer, E.F. (1963). New taxa and new United States records of the diatom genus Neidium from West Lake Okoboji, Iowa. Notulae Naturae 358: 1-9.