Distribution of diatom flora of the family Achnantheaceae in two different mountain ecoregions: The Himalaya and the Central Highland

Abstract

This paper describes the diatom flora of the family Achnantheaceae from two different ecoregions of India. In the present study, thirty nine diatom taxa belonging to the genus Achnanthes, Achnanthidium and Planothidium were identified. The morphological and ecological characteristics of this taxon are little known in spite of the fact that it is generally considered to be widely distributed. The species of this family comprises a large number of monoraphid diatoms common in freshwater. Many representatives of these genera are good indicators of water quality and its physicochemical characteristics. In the flora twenty nine species were recorded from the Himalaya while twenty species from Vindhya. All of them were first records for the Vindhyan rivers.