Staurastrum refractum Delponte 1877: 42

Levanets, Anatoliy & Unit, Sanet Janse van Vuuren, 2025, The correct name for Staurastrum inconspicuum Nordstedt (Staurastrum minutissimum Averswald pro parte) (Desmidiaceae, Zygnematophyceae), Notulae Algarum 360, pp. 1-4 : 1-2

Staurastrum refractum Delponte 1877: 42 , pl. XI [11]: figs 7-9 (source of synonymy West & al. 1923: 86)

Heterotypic synonyms: Staurastrum inconspicuum Nordstedt 1873: 26 , pl. 1: fig. 11, 1873, nom. illeg., priority for Staurastrum inconspicuum De Notaris (in De Notaris & Baglietto) 1871: 321, no fig.

Staurastrum minutissimum Averswald (in Reinsch) 1866: 140, pl. XXIII [23] A. II (based upon Rabenhorst 1863: Decades 43-44, no. 1428, “ saltem ex parte ”);

Didymidium (Staurastrum) minutissimum Averswald (in Reinsch)1867: 153, pl. XXIII [23]: fig. 1 a–d;

(?) Staurastrum haynaldii Schaarschmidt 1883: 272 , fig. 18

Staurastrum inconspicuum var. crassum F. Gay 1884: 68 , pl. II [2]: fig. 10, as ‘ Staurastrum inconspicuum Nordstedt β crassum ’ (source of synonymy Coesel & Meesters 2013: 107).

Staurastrum inconspicuum var. abbreviatum Raciborski 1885 : (87), pl. III [3] (= XII [12]): fig. 9, 1885, as ‘ Staurastrum inconspicuum Nordstedt var. abbreviatum ’ (source of synonymy Coesel & Meesters 2013: 107).

Staurastrum inconspicuum var. vogesiacum Lemaire 1890: 32 (as ‘ Staurastrum inconspiscuum [sic] Nordstedt var. vogesiacum’, misprint or literal error in species epithet) (= Staurastrum subrefractum Lemaire 1883: 21 , pl. 1: fig. 3; source of synonymy Kouwets 1999: 115).

Staurastrum inconspicuum var. planctonicum G.M. Smith 1924: 109 , pl. 80: figs 5–7, 1924, as ‘ Staurastrum inconspicuum Nordstedt var. planctonicum ’ (source of synonymy Coesel & Meesters 2013: 107).

Staurodesmus minutissimus (Averswald) Teiling 1967: 490 , as ‘ Staurodesmus minutissimus (Reinsch) Teiling’ (source of synonymy John & al. 2022: 56).

Description. Cell slightly longer than wide, interrupted circularly by a wide and shallow sinus, isthmus equal in length to the body of the cell. Semicells quadriradiate with four cylindrical lobes or arms, enlarged at the base and equipped by two or three spines. The cells seen from one side offer something analogous to the torso of a man thanks to the lobes that represent its four extremities. Smooth wall. Length 21.0 µm, width 18.0 µm ( Delponte 1877: 42, 43).

Lectotype (designated here): [icon!] Delponte 1977: pl. XI [11]: figs 7-9 (Fig. 3).

Lectotype locality: Italy: Lake Candia in the Canavese area [now the town of Candia Canavese in the Piedmontese province of Turin].

Registration (of designation of lectotype): http://phycobank.org/105150

Note. Nordstedt (1873) found this species in southern Norway: I. Odde. – II. Kristiansand; Mosby; Liukjaern; Reiersdal; Aspelandsvandet. – IV. Guldsmedsmoen; Hordnäs. – VII. Stuefloten.

Rabenhorst’s exsiccata # 1428 deposited in the herbariums of the University of Michigan (MICH) [Catalog #: 736509] and Miami University - Algae (MU) [Catalog #: 000186161] digitalised and reflected on Macroalgal Herbarium Consortium portal (https://macroalgae.org/portal/collections/exsiccati/index.php?omenid=7634#).