Diatoms of North AmericaDiatoms of North America
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Guide to Melosira

Agardh 1824

Melosira Guide
Credit: Marina Potapova, Sarah Spaulding
  1. Valve wall uniform in structure, little external ornamentation
  2. Frustules lack costae, septae, and spines
  3. Frustules may form colonies

Melosira valves have little ornamentation. They lack distinctive features including costae, septae, and spines. Frustules form long colonies linked at the valve face.

Melosira contains a small number of freshwater species. M. varians, one of the most common species of the genus grows in benthic habitats of eutrophic streams and lakes. Melosira also contains the species M. undulata, which grows in large, oliogotrophic lakes of western North America as well as dystrophic rivers.