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Fortiea

Generic name: FORTIEA De Toni 1936. Noter Nomencl. Algol. 8: 3.
Synonyms:
LEPTOBASIS Elenkin 1915; non Leptobasis dulae 1867
Diagnosis:
Type species: Fortiea caucasica (Elenkin) De Toni 1936
Descriptions:
Komárek (1992): Filamentous; filaments heteropolar, differentiated into basal part with a heterocyte and free apical end, cylindrical, simple, solitary or in small groups; filaments usually creeping on the substrate or growing in periphyton. Sheaths_firm, envelop always only one trichome, colourless, sometimes thick and lengthwise and crosswise layered. Trichomes always with a basal, hemispherical or spherical heterocyte rarely also with cylindrical intecalar heterocytes, at which trichomes disintegrate; trichomes cylindrical or slightly widened at the base, narrowed in the middle part and clearly widened at the ends, constricted or unconstricted at the cross walls, but usually constricted at the ends. Cells cylindrical or barrel-shaped, in the middle part usually clearly longer than wide, at the bases and at the ends shortened up to isodiametrical or shorter than wide; end cells widely rounded or spherical. Aerotopes absent. Akinetes develop rarely in basal parts of trichomes, usually in rows and separated by heterocytes (known in several species only).
Genotype differences, molecular data:
Reproduction strategies, life cycles, cell division:
Komárek (1992):Cell division cross-wise, perpendicularly to the long axes of trichomes; in old trichomes apical meristematic zones. Trichomes disintegrate at heterocytes. Reproduction by hormogonia, which separate from trichomes by necridic cells and by akinetes.
Ultrastructure:
Taxonomic position, higher hierarchy:
Cyanophyceae, Nostocales, Microchaetaceae, Microchaetoideae
Notes to taxonomy, misinterpretations:Nine species.
Ecology, ecophysiology, ecological significance:
Komárek (1992):Periphytic among other algae and water plants with plenty of detritus (tropical alkalic pools and swamps, moors in temperate zones, littoral of lakes), the type species is known from creeks and waterfalls in limestone mountains, one species was described from the littoral of tropical salinic lake. All species probably with geographically limited areas of distribution.
Physiology and biochemistry:
Distribution, endemism, problematic citations:
Reference strain:
Infrageneric scheme, species concept:

List of species:
Fortiea africana Compère 1967
Fortiea bossei (Frémy) Desikachary 1959
Fortiea caucasica (Elenkin) De Toni 1936
Fortiea crassa (G.S. West) De Toni 1936
Fortiea incerta Skuja 1949
Fortiea monilispora Komárek 1984
Fortiea salinicola Komárek 1984
Fortiea subaiana Claus 1962
Fortiea spirulina (Steinecke) De Toni 1936
Fortiea striatula (Hy) De Toni 1936
Fortiea tenuissima (W. et G.S. West) De Toni 1936

Unclear taxa:
Aulosira bombayensis Gonzalves 1946
Fortiea bossei var. indica Kamat 1962
Fortiea sp. in Komárek & M. Watanabe 1998
Leptobasis goesingensis Palik 1938
Leptobasis nipponica Schwabe 1944


Keys:
List of stains:
Drawings:
Komárek 1992
Application technology:
Literature:

  2.1 taxonomy: Desikachary 1959, Starmach 1966, Komárek 1984, Komárek 1992
  2.2 cytomorphology:
  2.3 16S rRNA sequencing:
  2.4 biology and life cycles:
  2.5 ecology: