Orthoseira
Thwaites 1848 Category: Centric
TYPE SPECIES: Orthoseira americana (Kützing) Spaulding & Kociolek
Image Credit: Marina Potapova and Sarah Spaulding
CLASS: Coscinodiscophyceae
ORDER: Orthosirales
FAMILY: Orthoseiraceae
- Carinoportulae one to several, near midvalve
- Spines marginal, variable in length
- Frustules linked by spines to form short chains
The frustules of Orthoseira are cylindrical and form filamentous colonies linked by marginal spines. The valve surface is flat and possesses one or more unique process, the carinoportula. Internally, the valves may (or may not) have internal 'caverns', positioned at the valve mantle interface. The marginal spines, if present, are variable in length.
Orthoseira typically grows in subaerial habitats, often with bryophytes, in soils, and on the bark of tropical trees. The appearance of this genus in lakes and streams is considered incidental. Orthoseira is found from tropical to polar regions.
Cite This Page:
Spaulding, S., and Edlund, M. (2009). Orthoseira. In Diatoms of the United States. Retrieved May 21, 2013, from http://westerndiatoms.colorado.edu/taxa/genus/Orthoseira
Contributor: Sarah Spaulding | Mark Edlund - January 2009
Reviewer: Sam Rushforth
Citations
Houk, V. (1993). Some morphotypes in the Orthoseira roeseana complex. Diatom Research 8: 385-402.
Spaulding, S.A. and Kociolek, J.P. (1998). The diatom genus Orthoseira: ultrastructure and morphological variation in two species from Madagascar with comments on nomenclature in the genus. Diatom Research 13: 133-147.
Van de Vijver, B. and Kopalova, K. (2008). Orthoseira gremmenii sp. nov., a new aerophilic diatom from Gough Island (southern Atlantic Ocean). Cryptogamie Algologie 29: 105-118.