TAXONOMY AND ULTRASTRUCTURE OF GOMPHONEIS-MESTA SP-NOV (BACILLARIOPHYTA), A NEW EPILITHIC DIATOM FROM THE MESTA RIVER, BULGARIA

A new species from the diatom genus Gomphoneis, G. mesta, was described following morphological and ultra-structural analyses of its frustules by light and scanning electron microscopy. The valve striation consisting of double rows of areolae and the presence of longitudinal lines dictate the systematic position of this taxon in the genus Gomphoneis. The set of features that distinguishes G. mesta from allied taxa is small valves, 26.5-81.6 mu m in length and 7-12.5 mu m in width, lanceolate to clavate shape, with a broadly lanceolate axial area, and longitudinal lines positioned next to the valve margins, thus contributing to a general thickening of the valve outline. When compared to other members of the genus, G. mesta most resembles G. magna Kociolek & Stoermer. Gomphoneis mesta dominates the epilithic community growing in the Cherna Mesta, a pristine high-mountainous tributary of the Mesta River in Bulgaria. The species has been also found as small populations in all other benthic habitats of the Cherna Mesta and in a few locations along the Mesta River.