Diatom Research

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A new species of Germainiella (Bacillariophyta)

from the Myristica swamps of the Western Ghats,
India

Mital Thacker, Surajit Roy, John Patrick Kociolek, Rex L. Lowe &
Balasubramanian Karthick

To cite this article: Mital Thacker, Surajit Roy, John Patrick Kociolek, Rex L. Lowe
& Balasubramanian Karthick (2019): A new species of Germainiella (Bacillariophyta)
from the Myristica swamps of the Western Ghats, India, Diatom Research, DOI:
10.1080/0269249X.2019.1671236

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/0269249X.2019.1671236

Published online: 07 Nov 2019.

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 Diatom Research, 2019
https://doi.org/10.1080/0269249X.2019.1671236

A new species of Germainiella (Bacillariophyta) from the Myristica swamps of the Western
Ghats, India
MITAL THACKER 1,2 , SURAJIT ROY 1
, JOHN PATRICK KOCIOLEK 3
, REX L. LOWE4 &
BALASUBRAMANIAN KARTHICK 1,2∗
1 Biodiversity and Palaeobiology Group, Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, India
2 Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India
3 Museum of Natural History and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
4 Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA

Germainiella chandranii sp. nov. is described from a Myristica swamp of the Western Ghats, India, on the basis of light and scanning
electron microscopy. The new species resembles two related genera, Fallacia Stickle & D.G. Mann and Germainiella Lange–Bertalot &
Metzeltin on the basis of valve morphology, but a thorough investigation of valve ultrastructure confirms its placement in Germainiella.
External valve outline and morphology, large conopeum covering the entire face of the valve, siliceous struts running perpendicular to
the raphe support the generic assignment. The main diagnostic features of the new species are the presence of small tubules running
perpendicular to the raphe, striae composed of a series of round to elongated areolae, which are not covered internally by hymenes, and a
larger central area. The new species occurs in acidic waters of the Myristica swamps of the Western Ghats and it can be considered as an
indicator of the acidic condition.
Keywords: biraphid diatom, Germainiella chandranii, Fallacia, India, Myristica swamp, taxonomy, Western Ghats

Introduction environmental profiling. The present study reports a new

The Western Ghats, a chain of mountains located along
the West Coast of the Indian Peninsula constitute one of
the 36 global biodiversity hotspots (Myers et al. 2000,
Noss et al. 2015). The Western Ghats are home to many
unique ecosystems, such as tropical rain forest, montane
grasslands, plateaus, streams, and rivers. The Myristica
swamps are one of the unique ecosystems and, as their
name indicates, they are water-saturated regions that are
predominantly covered with trees belongs to the ancient
family Myristicaceae (Chandran & Mesta 2001). Though
the higher plant composition of these swamps is well-
known (Chandran et al. 2008), little attention has been paid
to their associated biodiversity. Recent studies, focused
mostly on amphibians, have reported endemic biota from
these swamps (Gururaja et al. 2007, Jose et al. 2014).
The Myristica swamps are characterized by having acidic
waters (Nair et al. 2007) due to high humic decompo-
sition and leaching into the waters. The swamps act as
islands delineated from the surrounding environment by
their acidic nature. We are currently conducting a study
on the diatom community composition and its environment
from various swamps of the central and southern regions of
the Western Ghats and its application to present and past
species of Germainiella from the Myristica swamp of the
Hulikal Ghat region of the Western Ghats, India.
Germainiella Lange–Bertalot & Metzeltin, is a small
genus containing eight species, with G. enigmaticoides
Lange–Bertalot & Metzeltin (Metzeltin et al. 2005) as
the generitype, a species reported from Rio de la Plata
(Uruguay). Other species of the genus include G. enigmat-
ica (H.Germain) Lange–Bertalot & Metzeltin, described
from a greenhouse of the Botanical Garden in Angers,
France (Germain 1980), G. clandestina R. Le Cohu,
L. Ten-Hage & J. Barthés, described from an artificial
freshwater channel in France (Le Cohu et al. 2016), and
G. legionensis Blanco, Borrego-Ramos & Olenici,
described from Valporquero Cave (León, NW Spain)
(Borrego-Ramos et al. 2018). Recently, three new
species of Germainiella, i.e. G. maolaniana Kociolek,
You, R. Lowe & Q. Wang, G. guizhouiana Koci-
olek, You, R. Lowe & Q. Wang, and G. sinica
Kociolek, You, R. Lowe & Q. Wang were described
from the Maolan Nature Reserve, Guizhou Province,
China, and in the same publication a new combina-
tion, G. emmae (Van de Vijver & Cox) Kociolek, You,
R. Lowe & Q. Wang was proposed (Kociolek et al. 2019).

*Corresponding author. E-mail: karthickbala@aripune.org

Associate Editor: Patrick Rioual
(Received 8 May 2019; accepted 29 July 2019)

© 2019 The International Society for Diatom Research

Published online 07 Nov 2019

2 Thacker et al.
The valve morphology of our new species resembles
two genera, Germainiella and Fallacia Stickle & D.G.
Mann, as represented by its generitype, F. pygmaea (Kütz-
ing) Stickle & D.G. Mann. The principle characters differ-
entiating Germainiella from Fallacia are the presence of
siliceous struts or series of canal apertures running exter-
nally on either side of the raphe, and the lack of lyre-shaped
tubular canals (Round et al. 1990; Kociolek et al. 2019).
The wide distribution of this relatively small genus from
South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia makes it inter-
esting from a biogeographic point of view. In the present
paper, we describe the new species Germainiella chan-
dranii from a swamp from the Hulikal Ghat region of
Karnataka, India.
Materials and methods
Study area
The material used in the current study was collected from
a swamp near Hulikal Falls (13.71773°N, 74.99917°E;
elevation 589 m a.s.l.), from Hosangara Taluka of the Shi-
moga district of Karnataka state. According to the
Directorate of Economics and Statistics, in Karnataka the
maximum rainfall occurs between the end of May and
the end of August, and the average annual rainfall is
8005 mm. These swamps harbour a unique type of vegeta-
tion dominated by Gymnacranthera farquhariana (Hook.
F. & Thomson) Warb. and Myristica fatua var. magnifica
(Bedd.) Sinclair (Chandran et al. 2008).
Collection
An epilithic rock sample was collected by scraping a stone
with a spoon during the post-monsoon season (December,
2017) and stored in a Whirl-Pak® sampling bag. Geo-
graphic coordinates were recorded using a GARMIN®
(Kansas, USA) eTrex® 30x GPS. Water quality variables
(pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and water
temperature) were tested on site using a HACH (Loveland,
CO, USA) HQ40D portable meter. Nitrate and phosphate
were measured using methods prescribed by HACH using
a HACH 1900 portable colorimeter and HACH chemicals
(NitraVer® 3 and NitraVer® 6, PhosVer® 3).
In the laboratory, organic matter in the samples was
removed by boiling with concentrated nitric acid. The
cleaned sample was then centrifuged at 4000 rpm for
10 min and rinsed five times with distilled water until
the pH of the sample was approximately neutral. The
processed sample was then diluted with distilled water, air-
dried on cover slips and mounted on slides using Naphrax®
mountant (Refractive Index: 1.69) (Karthick et al. 2010).
Original material, the processed sample and resulting per-
manent slides were deposited at the Diatom Collection of
Agharkar Research Institute Herbarium (AHMA), Pune,
India.
Microscopy
Light microscope (LM) images and morphometric data
were obtained using an Olympus BX53 (Tokyo, Japan)
microscope equipped with differential interference con-
trast optics and × 100 oil immersion objective (n.a. 1.42).
Microscopic images were captured using an Olympus
DP74 camera attached with cellSens standard 1.16 imag-
ing software. For scanning electron microscopy (SEM),
the processed sample was air-dried onto a glass coverslip
and placed on aluminium stubs covered with double-sided
carbon tape. The stubs were coated with gold for approx-
imately 3 min using an Emitech K575X (Quorum Tech-
nologies; Lewes, UK) sputter coater and observed with an
EVO® MA 15 Zeiss (Oberkochen, Germany) SEM. Micro-
graphs were recorded using Zeiss SmartSEM software. LM
and SEM plates were prepared using GIMP 2.10.2 and
Inkscape 0.92.3 software.
Morphological terminology follows Ross et al. (1979)
and Gogorev et al. (2018).
Results
Germainiella chandranii M. Thacker, S. Roy, Kociolek &
B. Karthick sp. nov. (Figs 1–26)
LM description (Figs 1–8).
Valves are linear, with broadly rounded apices and almost
parallel margins. Valve length 24–36 μm, width 6.5–
6.9 μm. Central area is asymmetric and half-elliptical in
shape. Axial area is very narrow. Raphe filiform, slightly
undulate. The axial area is expanded near the centre to form
a half-elliptical central area. Proximal raphe ends deflected
slightly, forming drop-like shape. Both distal raphe ends
curved in the same direction. Striae barely distinguishable
in LM, weakly radiate throughout, approximately 40–42 in
10 μm.
SEM description (Figs 9–26).
External valve view: Valve face entirely covered by a wide
conopeum reaching the valve face/mantle junction with
two apical openings (Figs 9–10). Narrow groove formed
between mantle and conopeum at the periphery of the
valve, enlarged towards the apices revealing two openings
at each apex (Figs 9, 10, 13, 14). Conopeum with irregu-
larly placed, small, rounded to elongated pores creating an
anastomosing pattern (Figs 12–14). Raphe sternum along
the apical axis (Figs 9–10 and 12–14) with a half-elliptical
central area (Fig. 12). Proximal raphe ends dilated and
slightly bent unidirectionally (Fig. 12). On either side of
the raphe, there are transapically elongated lines of slit-
like openings (some are bifurcated), creating a boundary
around the sternum (Figs 12–14). A tilted (Fig. 18) and
another valve (Figs 19–21) reveal siliceous struts running
perpendicular to the raphe.
At the valve apices, the conopeum does not merge
with the mantle creating openings on either side of the
 Germainiella chandranii sp. nov. from Myristica swamps
Figs 1–8. Type material of Germainiella chandranii from the Myristica swamp of the central Western Ghats, India. LM. Light micro-
scope images of the specimens from the type population showing valve views in size diminution series. Holotype depicted in Fig. 7.
(Scale bar = 10 μm).
valve (Figs 13–14). Striae are visible in the apical open-
ings (Figs 13–14). Striae form a series of round to elon-
gated areolae which are not covered internally by hymenes
(Fig. 20; arrowhead), clearly seen in a tilted, broken valve
(Fig. 18).
Internal valve view: Proximal and distal raphe ends curve
to opposite sides of the valve from each other (Figs 22–
24). Internal proximal raphe ends are simple and deflected
towards the same side (Fig. 23). Internal distal raphe ends
are slightly bent and terminate in poorly-developed, raised
helictoglossae (Figs 22–24).
Girdle view: The valvocopula, girdle bands and slit-like
areolae on the mantle are evident (Fig. 11). The valvo-
copula is accompanied by two to three unornamented
girdle bands (Figs 15–17; Figs 25–26). The mantle has
more or less equally spaced, longitudinally oriented slits
(Figs 15–17). Distal raphe ends extend onto the valve
mantle (Figs 16–17).
Holotype. Circled specimen on microscope slide marked
06–17 made from material #259, AHMA, Diatom Section,
Pune, India. Holotype specimen illustrated in Fig. 7.
Type Locality. The Myristica swamp near Hulikal Falls
from Hosangara Taluka of the Shimoga district of Kar-
nataka state, India. 13.71773°N, 74.99917°E, elevation
589 m a.s.l.
Etymology. The specific epithet refers to esteemed botanist,
Dr M.D. Subash Chandran, Kumta, Karnataka, to honour
his three decades of research in the conservation of Myris-
tica swamps of Western Ghats.
3
Habitat. Germainiella chandranii was distributed in a
small swamp, almost stagnant or with low water flow; pH:
6.37, electrical conductivity: 75.8 μs cm−1 , dissolved oxy-
gen: 7.7 ppm, nitrate: 0.6 ppm phosphate: 1.17 ppm, water
temperature: 24.5°C.
Discussion
Based on the valve external morphology, the new species
appears best placed in Germainiella as it possesses the
main features of the genus, including a series of transapi-
cally elongated siliceous struts or canal-like apertures
running parallel to the raphe. However, our new taxon
lacks some of the characters of Germainiella, such as
the single large internal areola present in the generitype,
G. enigmaticoides.
The genera Germainiella and Fallacia are quite sim-
ilar but can easily be separated on the basis of several
differences. Werum & Lange-Bertalot (2004) transferred
Navicula enigmatica H. Germain to Fallacia on the basis
of the presence of conopeum. Later Meltzeltin et al. (2005)
transferred this taxon into the new genus Germainiella
based on the conopeum masking the valve face and part
of the mantle, the presence of external canal apertures on
either side of the raphe, and striae composed of a single
areola, which is not covered by an internal hymen. Based
on the presence or absence of a lyre-shaped canal, two
groups of Fallacia taxa can be recognized. A third group
of taxa formerly placed in Fallacia were transferred into
a separate genus, Pseudofallacia Y. Liu, Kociolek & Q.X.
Wang (Liu et al. 2012) on the basis of two longitudinal
4 Thacker et al.

Figs 9–11. Type material of Germainiella chandranii from the Myristica swamp of the central Western Ghats, India. SEM. Figs 9–10.
Valve exterior showing conopeum-covered linear valves with broadly rounded apices, undulating raphe, asymmetrical central area and
two apical openings. Fig. 11. Girdle view of the frustule showing valvocopula, girdle bands and slit-like areolae on the mantle. (Scale
bars = 4 μm).
 Germainiella chandranii sp. nov. from Myristica swamps 5

Figs 12–17. Type material of Germainiella chandranii from the Myristica swamp of the central Western Ghats, India. SEM. Fig. 12.
Valve exterior showing the sternum positioned along the apical axis, half-elliptical central area and proximal raphe endings dilated and
slightly bent unidirectionally. Figs 13–14. Valve exterior showing apex with valve face/mantle junction and distal raphe endings. The
valve face shows two lines of transapically elongated slit like areolae (some are bifurcated) that create a boundary around the sternum.
Fig. 15. Girdle view of the middle of the frustule showing longitudinal slits on valve mantle. Figs 16–17. Girdle view of the frustule
showing the position of apical opening and distal raphe ends, valvocopula and unornamented girdle bands. (Scale bars = 2 μm).

depressions along the narrow sternum, covered externally
by a perforated conopeum beside the raphe. However, Van
de Vijver & Cox (2015) described another interesting taxon
(Fallacia emmae Van de Vijver & Cox) which shows fea-
tures of both Fallacia and Germainiella. According to
Van de Vijver & Cox (2015), F. emmae lacks siliceous
struts (sub-conopeum canal system) and has striae com-
posed of a single areola covered by an internal hymen.
Kociolek et al. (2019) transferred this taxon to Ger-
mainiella as siliceous struts are present in this taxon but
6 Thacker et al.

Figs 18–21. Type material of Germainiella chandranii from the Myristica swamp of the central Western Ghats, India. SEM. Fig. 18.
Broken and tilted frustule (picture was taken by tilting the SEM stage at 13° angle) showing the areola structure beneath the conopeum
and siliceous struts perpendicular to the raphe (arrows) (full valve view in the inset). Fig. 19. Frustule showing detached siliceous struts
(arrows) on the valve face. Fig. 20. Note the transapically elongated slit (i.e. siliceous struts) from the valve view (arrows); arrowheads
showing areolae devoid of internal hymenes (half valve view as inset). Fig. 21. External view of central area highlighting the curved
proximal ends, asymmetric central area and siliceous struts (Scale bars = 1 μm).

not observable in unbroken valves. However, it is not
clear whether Fallacia and Germainiella are phylogenet-
ically related to each other or not, as formal analyses of
morphological and molecular data are lacking.
Our new taxon resembles several species assigned
to Fallacia and Germainiella and these are compared
in Table 1. Although Fallacia latelongitudinalis (R.M.
Patrick) M. Potapova (2013: 7) does not differ from
G. chandranii with respect to valve length, shape,
axial area, striation pattern, conopeum characters, sub-
conopeum canal system, proximal and distal raphe ends,
and areola structure, it does differ from G. chandranii
in being narrower (4.6–5.6 μm), having a higher stria
density (45–50/10 μm), an elliptic central area, and lack-
ing transapically elongated siliceous struts encircling the
sternum (Table 1). A more detailed scanning electron
microscopical study of F. latelongitudinalis is needed to
ascertain its correct generic placement.
Fallacia subhamulata (Grunow) D.G. Mann (Round
et al. 1990: 669) is shorter (15.0–17.3 μm), has a lower
stria density (28–31/10 μm), a small circular central area,
straight raphe, and finely porous conopeum compared to
G. chandranii, and these features allow the taxa to be
distinguished. Fallacia lenzii (Hustedt) Lange-Bertalot is
shorter (12 μm) and narrower (3.5 μm) but has a higher
stria density (over 40/10 μm) compared to G. chandranii.
In Germainiella emmae (Van de Vijver & Cox) Koci-
olek, You, R. Lowe & Q. Wang (Van de Vijver & Cox
2015: 247), the striae are composed of a single elongated
areola, a character that is absent in G. chandranii. Both
species share siliceous struts perpendicular to the raphe.
Germainiella enigmaticoides Lange-Bertalot & Metzeltin
(Metzeltin et al. 2005: 75) and Germainiella clandestina
R. Le Cohu, L. Ten-Hage & J. Barthés (Le Cohu et al.
2016: 185) are morphologically similar to G. chandranii,
but both are much smaller. Germainiella enigmaticoides
and G. clandestina have very high stria densities (73–79
in 10 μm and 50–62 in 10 μm respectively), the conopeum
fully covers the valve, striae are composed of a single elon-
gated areola, and there is no sternum encircling transapi-
cally elongated siliceous struts; all of these features easily
differentiate both species from G. chandranii.
 Germainiella chandranii sp. nov. from Myristica swamps 7

Figs 22–26. Type material of Germainiella chandranii from the Myristica swamp of the central Western Ghats, India. SEM showing
details of internal view of the valve with the internal raphe structure. Figs 22–24. Valve interior showing different valve structures,
proximal and distal raphe ends curving in opposite directions. Figs 25–26. Valve apices showing the peel off of unornamented girdle
bands (Scale bars: Figs 22–24 = 5 μm; Figs 25–26 = 2 μm).
 8
Thacker et al.
Table 1. Comparison of morphological characteristics of Germainiella chandranii sp. nov. and closely related taxa (* denotes “measured from the published figures”).

Germainiella
Germainiella Germainiella Germainiella Germainiella Fallacia late- Fallacia Fallacia chandranii sp.
Characters enigmaticoides clandestina sinica emmae longitudinalis subhamulata lenzii nov.

Length 6.5–11.5 μm 2.8–7.6 μm 12–24 μm 11.5–16.0 μm 22–32 μm 15.0–17.3 μm 12 μm 24–32 μm

Width 1.9–2.5 μm 1.3–1.9 μm 3.5–4.0 μm 3.0–3.6 μm 4.6–5.6 μm 5.6–6.0 μm 3.5 μm 6.5–6.8 μm
Stria density 73–79/10 μm 50–62/10 μm 37–39/10 μm 32–36/10 μm 45–50/10 μm 28–31/10 μm over 40/10 μm 40–42/10 μm
(10 μm)
Valve outline Linear, inflated Linear elliptical Cylindrical Narrowly Linear rectangular Linear elliptic Linear, slightly Linear elliptic
in the middle to broadly lanceolate with tumid at centre
becoming elliptical parallel margins
concave
Valve apex Sub-capitate Broadly rounded Rounded Broadly rounded Rounded Broadly rounded Broadly rounded Broadly rounded
Central area Narrow Narrow and Small and Narrow Small and elliptic Small and circular Not evident Small, half-
circular rectangle elliptical and
asymmetrical
Axial area Very narrow Very narrow Narrow Narrow, forming Very narrow Narrow Very narrow Very narrow
a slightly raised
raphe sternum
above the valvar
plane
Striation pattern Parallel to Parallel, dis- Faintly radiate, Parallel to weakly Striae are strongly Weakly radiate, Parallel Weakly radiating
weakly radiate cernible in evident mostly radiate through- radiate beside more radiate throughout,
throughout, LM at the margin out, barely central area, towards the discernible in
visible at the discernible in strongly apices, barely LM
junction of LM convergent discernible in
valve mantle at the ends LM
and conopeum, and continue
discernible in onto valve
LM mantle, barely
discernible in
LM
Raphe path Filiform and Filiform and Filiform, faint Filiform and Filiform and Filiform and Filiform and Filiform and
slightly straight straight straight straight straight slightly
undulate undulate
Conopeum Covering valve Covering entire Wide covering Covering entire Covering entire Finely porous and – Covering entire
face and parts valve face and entire valve face valve face valve face covering entire valve face
of the mantle part of mantle and reaching valve face and reaching
the valve the valve
face/mantle face/mantle
junction junction
Longitudinal Distinct groove Distinct groove Distinct groove Distinct groove Absent Absent – Narrow groove
openings present present present present present
between the
conopeum and
margins
Conopeum pores Only discernible Undetectable Undetectable in Detectable in SEM Detectable in Detectable in – Detectable in
in TEM (c. even in TEM SEM (c. 140–160 SEM (c. 215– SEM (c. 90– SEM (c. 70–90
350–400 pores pores in 10 μm) 260 pores in 100 pores in pores in 10 μm)
in 10 μm) 10 μm)* 10 μm)*
Small siliceous present present present Present absent absent – present
struts (slits) on
both sides of the
raphe
External distal Curved and Curved and Hooked in the Hooked and Hooked and Curved and Curved and Curved and
raphe ends terminating on terminating on same direction extended onto extended onto terminating on terminating on terminating on
the mantle the mantle mantle mantle the mantle the mantle the mantle
External proximal Slightly curved Slightly curved Straight Clearly deflected Very close and Inflated or – Slightly deflected
raphe ends and lying in a towards the towards the slightly bent to tear-drop like unidirectionally
comparatively primary side of primary side of the primary side
deep furrow the valve the valve of the valve

Germainiella chandranii sp. nov. from Myristica swamps

Internal areola one large areola one large areola Series of rounded one large areola series of rounded series of rounded – series of rounded
structure entirely covered entirely pores entirely covered to slightly to slightly to slightly
by hymen covered by by hymen elongated in elongated in elongated in
hymen shape, covered shape, covered shape, covered
internally by a internally by a internally by a
hymen hymen hymen
Habitat Fresh water Fresh water, Fresh water, Terrestrial Fresh water Alkaline fresh- Freshwater lake Epilithic benthos
benthic epilithic + water, benthic, from acidic
epiphytic prefers high Myristica
benthos from a nutrient and swamps
tree-lined stream electrolyte
content
Locality Río de la Plata Artificial channel Maolan Nature Île de la Possession South Carolina, Central Europe Central Europe Myristica
near colonia del inoculated with Reserve, island in the Aiken County, swamps,
Sacramento, bio-films from Guizhou southern Indian an inlet on a Western Ghats
Uruguay the Garrone Province ocean Savannah river
river
Source Metzeltin et al. Le Cohu et al. Kociolek et al. Van de Vijver & Potapova (2013) Round et al. Schmidt (1936); Present study
(2005) (2016) (2019) Cox (2015) (1990) Hustedt (1950);
Werum &
Lange-Bertalot
(2004)

9
10 Thacker et al.
According to Le Cohu et al. (2016), G. enigmaticoides
and G. clandestina favour environments rich in nitrogen
and phosphorus and have an affinity for high electrolyte
content; the ecological setting for G. chandranii is quite
different, occurring in nutrient-poor, acidic waters. The
morphologically most similar taxon to G. chandranii is
G. sinica (Table 1). Germainiella chandranii differs from
G. sinica in that the latter species has a lower stria density
(37–39/10 μm), is shorter (12–24 μm) and narrower (3.5–
4.0 μm). Pores on the valve outer surface (conopeum pores)
are not visible in G. sinica. The central area of G. sinica
differs in shape (rectangular) compared to that in G. chan-
dranii, and while the raphe of G. sinica is straight, that of
G. chandranii is undulate.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Director, Agharkar Research
Institute, for support and encouragement. Authors are also thank-
ful to the Karnataka Forest Department for permission to carry
out this research with research permit. The authors are thankful
to two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments on the
previous version of the manuscript.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Funding
This work is part of the project supported by Ministry of
Earth Sciences under paleoclimate program (MoES/CCR/Paleo-
26/2015). SR would also like to thank Science and Engineering
Research Board (SERB), India for providing National Post-
Doctoral Fellowship (PDF/2017/000877).
ORCID
Mital Thacker http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6409-1779
Surajit Roy http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2339-9723
John Patrick Kociolek http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9824-7164
Balasubramanian Karthick http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4066-
2458
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