TAXONOMIC STUDIES OF THE CENTRIC DIATOM FROM THE LAKE CHANGHAI, JIUZHAIGOU VALLEY, CHINA, INCLUDING THE DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES

In this study, four centric diatom are reported from Lake Changhai in Jiuzhaigou Valley, Sichuan Province, China. One new Cyclotella species: Cyclotella changhai sp. nov., one newly-recorded species from China: Cyclotella cretica, and two rare reported centric diatoms: Cyclotella distinguenda and Lindavia radiosa. The morphology of these four species is documented by light and scanning electron micrographs and compared with similar species. Cyclotella changhai sp. nov. is similar to C. comensis Grunow, C. pseudocomensis Scheffler and C. costei Druart & Straub, but is distinguished from them by the structure of the central area in the valve: nearly flat central area with irregular depressions.