Guide to Delicatophycus

Valves are slightly asymmetric to the apical axis and symmetric to the transapical axis. The valve shape is narrow and lanceolate. The raphe is distinctly lateral and becomes reverse-lateral at the center of the valve. The proximal raphe ends are thin. The terminal raphe fissures are deflected toward the dorsal side. Valves lack a distinct central area. The striae are fine and usually number more than 18 in 10 µm. Within the striae, external expression of the foramina is variable; foramina may be oval, zig-zag, undulate or other shapes. Stigmata, stigmoids and apical pore fields are absent.

Delicata was segregated from Cymbella sensu lato (Krammer 2003). Species are distributed broadly, from the tropics to the subarctic.

The generic designation of Delicata, however, is invalid (Wynne 2019) and designations at species levels are also invalid. Wynne proposed the name Delicatophycus along with new names for designations at the species and intraspecific levels.