Silica-scaled chrysophytes from the Ukrainian Polissia

We investigated the silica-scaled chrysophyte flora from the Ukrainian Polissia by means of electron microscopy. Overall, 49 taxa were recorded, including three species each of Chrysosphaerella Lauterborn and Paraphysomonas De Saedeleer emend. Scoble & Cavalier-Smith, one unidentified Lepidochromonas Kristiansen taxon, two Spiniferomonas E.Takahashi species, 28 Mallomonas Perty taxa and 12 Synura Ehrenb. taxa. Only six species have previously been reported from this region and 29 of the taxa encountered in this study are reported for the first time from Ukraine. Two taxa, Synura petersenii f. columnata Siver and S. korshikovii Kapustin & Gusev were found for the second time since their original descriptions. We hypothesize that the latter species is an endemic of ­Polissia, however, to test this idea it would be necessary to sample the water-bodies from the adjacent ­territories of Belarus and Russia.