Surirella barrowcliffia Donkin 1869 (Bacillariophyta, Surirellaceae): the first observation of the diatom in Poland

Diatoms of the genus Surirella are considered to be a very diverse group, many of them are endemic species found in old lakes as well as in tropical regions worldwide. This study describes a new location of Surirella barrowcliffia. In 2005-2007, algological research on the taxonomic composition of benthic diatoms was conducted in the middle section of the Pilica River (Central Poland). A total of 23 benthic samples were collected from a single sampling site located in the town of Sulejów (159.8 km upriver). Altogether 242 diatom species were identified in the collected material. One of the most interesting taxa in this community was S. barrowcliffia. According to the information available in the world’s algological databases, such as Algaterra and AlgaeBase, S. barrowcliffia has so far been found only in England, France, Finland, northern Germany – in the Weser and the Kleine Wumme rivers, near Bremen, and in Romania in the Crapina-Jijila lake complex. S. barrowcliffia has not been recorded in the previous research conducted not only in the middle section of the Pilica River, but also in other Polish aquatic ecosystems.