The knowledge about terrestrial diatom assemblages in southern Africa is rather limited, despite a long history of diatom research in this area. Terrestrial habitats are places of characteristic diatom floras, dominated by species resistant to desiccation which are able to thrive in conditions of limited water availability. The presented work expands the knowledge about these unique habitats. During the study on terrestrial moss-inhabiting diatoms from Western Cape Province (South Africa), four taxa with a unique set of valve features have been found and described herein as new species, based on light and scanning electron microscopy. These new species are: Luticola microcephala M. Rybak, Peszek & Kochman-Kędziora, sp. nov., Luticola asymmetrica M. Rybak, Kochman-Kędziora & Peszek, sp. nov., Luticola terrestris Kochman-Kędziora, M. Rybak & Peszek, sp. nov. and Microcostatus meridionalis Peszek, M. Rybak & Kochman-Kędziora, sp. nov. Algal community composition had low species richness (9–15 taxa per sample) and samples were dominated by: Humidophila contenta, Nitzschia brevissima and Eunotia aff. pseudominor. The three new Luticola species formed numerous populations, exceeding 10% of the share, whereas Microcostatus meridionalis reached 5.4%. Basic morphological data of associated diatom flora together with detailed micrographs are also provided.

中文翻译：

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来自南非 Luticola 和 Microcostatus 属的四种新陆生硅藻物种的描述

尽管该地区的硅藻研究历史悠久，但对南部非洲陆生硅藻组合的了解相当有限。陆地栖息地是具有特征性硅藻群的地方，主要是耐干燥的物种，它们能够在有限的水资源条件下茁壮成长。所呈现的工作扩展了有关这些独特栖息地的知识。在对西开普省（南非）的陆生苔藓硅藻进行研究期间，基于光学和扫描电子显微镜，发现了具有一组独特瓣膜特征的四种分类群，并在本文中将其描述为新物种。这些新物种是： Luticola microcephala M. Rybak, Peszek & Kochman-Kędziora, sp. 11 月，不对称 Luticola M. Rybak，Kochman-Kędziora 和 Peszek，sp。十一月, Luticola terrestris Kochman-Kędziora, M. Rybak & Peszek, sp. 十一月 和 Microcostatus meridionalis Peszek, M. Rybak & Kochman-Kędziora, sp. 十一月 藻类群落组成的物种丰富度较低（每个样本 9-15 个分类群），样本主要为：Humidophila contenta、Nitzschia brevissima 和 Eunotia aff。伪未成年人。三个新的 Luticola 物种形成了许多种群，超过了 10% 的份额，而 Microcostatus meridionalis 达到了 5.4%。还提供了相关硅藻群的基本形态数据以及详细的显微照片。三个新的 Luticola 物种形成了许多种群，超过了 10% 的份额，而 Microcostatus meridionalis 达到了 5.4%。还提供了相关硅藻群的基本形态数据以及详细的显微照片。三个新的 Luticola 物种形成了许多种群，超过了 10% 的份额，而 Microcostatus meridionalis 达到了 5.4%。还提供了相关硅藻群的基本形态数据以及详细的显微照片。