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TAXONOMIC STUDY OF THE FAMILY MESOTAENIACEAE (DESMIDIOPHYCEAE SHAMEEL) IN CERTAIN NORTH-EASTERN AREAS OF PAKISTAN

WAQAR-UL-HAQ¹, A. ZARINA¹, MASUD-UL-HASAN² AND MUSTAFA SHAMEEL³

Abstract: Eleven species of saccorderm desmids (green microalgae) belonging to 5 genera of the family Mesotaeniaceae (order Mesotaeniales, class Desmidiophyceae, phylum Volvocophyta) were collected from various freshwater habitats of Gujranwala, Jhang, Lahore, Sargodha and Sheikhupura districts of the Punjab, Bahrain & Kalam in Swat and Attock (NWFP) of Pakistan as well as Chenari and Neelum Valley of Azad Kashmir during January 2005-April 2006. They ware taxonomically investigated and have been described for the first time from these areas. These species were found to grow in all the seasons of the year but mostly occurred in spring and winter. The genera Hyalotheca and Netrium and the species H. dissilliens, H. mucosa, N. digitus, N. oblongum, Pleurotaenium trabecula and Staurastrum inflexum are being reported for the first time from Pakistan.

¹Department of Botany, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences & Technology Gulshan-e-Iqbal Campus, Karachi-75300, Pakistan,

² Department of Botany, Govt. College University, Kachehri Road, Lahore-54000,

³Depatment of Botany, University of Karachi, Karachi-75270, Pakistan.