Guide to Lindavia

Lindavia contains the taxa that were formerly included in the Cyclotella comta group, including species in the genera Puncticulata and Handmannia based on Nakov et al. (2015).

One character that joins the lineage Lindavia is the presence of one or more rimoportulae on the valve face. That is, the rimoportulae are not positioned along side the marginal fultoportulae.

Other characters of Lindavia include the type of satellite pores on the fultoportulae, 2-3 (sometimes 4) satellite pores are present. In addition, the external openings of the fultoportulae lack tubuli. In some species, the costae are thick, with secondary, thin costae that are forked. In other species, the costae are thin, short and only present on the valve mantle. Lindavia may have a variety of types of valve surface; the valve face may be almost flat, concave, convex, concentrically undulate or tangentially undulate.

The name Puncticulata (Håkansson 2002) is illegitimate. Furthermore, both Puncticulata and Handmannia are later synonyms of Lindavia (Nakov et al. 2015). A rimoportula positioned on the valve face was recognized as synapomorphy for the group of taxa including Cyclotella comta, C. ocellata and Pliocaenicus. To reflect priority according to the ICN and monophyletic taxa, Nakov et al. transferred species with this shared, derived feature of a rimoportula on the valve face into the genus Lindavia.

The name Lindavia was first published as a section of Cyclotella (see Schütt, 1899, p. 220), with a single taxon Cyclotella socialis Schütt 1899. The taxon was treated as a genus (De Toni and Forti 1900) and included Lindavia radiosa (Grunow) Schütt (= Cyclotella comta var. radiosa Grun. in Van Heurck). Cyclotella socialis is implicitly included by De Toni and Forti by citation of Schütt's section. Because it is the type of the section, Cyclotella socialis is the type of the genus Lindavia (Fourtainer and Kociolek 2011).

Nakov et al. (2015) made the formal transfer of some 90 species in Cyclotella, Handmannia, Pliocenicus and Puncticulata into Lindavia.

Note that the work of others (Ács et al. 2016) find a differing relationship of the genera in the Lindavia /Cyclotella ocellata group and raise these to a separate genus, Pantocsekiella. In this view, distinctive features are unequal striae, and a central area that lacks areolae.