Bibliotheca Diatomologica, Volume 17: A Contribution to the Study of New Zealand Diatoms

This volume contains three contributions:

A pollution tolerance survey of benthic diatoms in New Zealand waterways:
A total of 169 taxa of benthic diatoms, in 23 samples from New Zealand rivers and streams, which were collected by Allan Hirsch in 1956 and 1957, were identified by Paul S. Conger in a series of letters to Hirsch. 30% of these are new records for New Zealand. These diatom records are published here posthumously, together with a pollution-tolerance rating which has been assigned to each taxon, as judged from the unpublished habitat records of Hirsch.

A taxonomic guide to diatoms of thermal habitats in New Zealand. Part 1. Centrales (Diatomophyceae/ Bacillariophyceae):
Twenty centric diatom taxa are described and illustrated, from hot springs and outflows in New Zealand thermal areas. Aulocosira includes a planktonic species formerly assigned to Melosira. Marine and brackish-marine species belonging to Stephanopyxis, Coscinodiscus, Actinocyclus, Actinoptychus, Auliscus, Cymatosira and Hyalodiscus are characteristic of mixed thermal and non-thermal outflow ditches in coastal areas near Auckland. Four taxa: Cymatosira belgica Grunow, Actinocyclus octonarius var. ralfsii (W. Smith) Hendey, Coscinodiscus kuetzingii A. Schmidt et al. and Coscinodiscus obscurus A. Schmidt et al. are described for the first time from New Zealand.

A taxonomic guide to diatoms of thermal habitats in New Zealand. Part 2. Pennales (Diatomophyceae/ Bacillariophyceae)
Brief descriptions of 125 pennate diatom taxa collected from thermal areas in New Zealand are given. Photomicrographs, both LM and SEM, are used for illustrations. Notes on the identifications are compiled from descriptions in standard texts and recent works on the taxonomy and ultrastructure of the taxa. Distribution of the taxa in New Zealand is quoted, together with that from other thermal localities in the world, as far as it is known. There are 6 new records for New Zealand: Achnanthes curvirostrum Brun, Cocconeis disculus (Schumann) Cleve, Denticula elegans Kuetzing, Nitzschia inconspicua Grunow, Nitzschia punctata var. coarctata (Grunow) Hustedt and Nitzschia rostellata Hustedt.