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Afrocymbella beccarii

(Grunow) Krammer

GBIF:323327660

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Geographic Distribution(1)

Distribution In this study, A. beccarii was identified in the gut contents of two specimens of Oreochromis leucostictus (RMCA 2016.035. P. 0266 and RMCA 2016.035. P. 1111), collected near Mwenya at the mouth of the Kazinga Channel (Lake Edward, Uganda) during the 2016 HIPE campaign (Fig. 1). This represents a novel observation of the species for Lake Edward although in an intestinal context. Previous East African records include benthic samples from Bugazia, Kamande, and mouth of the Mosenda River on the Congolese side of Lake Edward, as well as planktonic occurrences from Bugazia, Kamande, and Hangi (Hustedt 1949). The species was also found in phytoplankton from Lake George and the Kazinga Channel (Hustedt 1949), and in bottom mud samples from Lake Edward (Gasse 1986). Haworth (1977) confirmed its presence in both Lake Edward and Lake George. Additional benthic and planktonic occurrences have been reported from Lake Kivu localities including Goma, Kisenyi, Keshero, and Gabiro-Nangero in Rwanda and DRC, as well as the Semliki River (DRC) (Hustedt 1949). Krammer (2003) reported A. beccarii as widespread across the East African Rift Valley lakes, including Lake Victoria (e. g., Mwanza Gulf, Tanzania), Lake Tanganyika, and even a temporary lake near the desert margin in Libya, although the latter lacks a precise source. Cocquyt et al. (1993) listed it in the algal flora of lakes Victoria, Tanganyika, and Malawi. Kociolek & Stoermer (1993 a) found A. beccarii (under its synonym A. brunii) as an epiphyte in Lake Turkana (Kenya) and in sediment cores from Lake Tanganyika. Mpawenayo (1996) observed this taxon in the Rusizi plain in Burundi, while Golama (1996) recorded A. beccarii as an epiphyte on stones near the Wagenia Falls in Kisangani (DRC). Ross (1983) mentioned records of the species from Benin (formerly Dahomey), Lake Chad, Libya, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe beside lakes Malawi, Tanganyika, Kivu, Edward, Victoria and Turkana. De Toni & Forti (1914), reported A. beccarii as epiphytic in Tarhuna, a locality in Libya rather close to the Mediterranean Sea. For west Africa, Woodhead & Tweed (1958) cited A. beccarii among the algae of Dahomey (present-day Benin). Afrocymbella beccarii was originally described as Cymbella beccarii Grunow (1886) from “ Abissinia ”. An additional record was reported from Sciotel, located in Eritrea (Forti 1910). Under its synonymy name Afrocymbella brunii the taxon was reported from Lake Edward (Rich 1933) as well as in the plankton of Lake Malawi and surrounding water bodies including Lake Malomba, Lake Ngozi, the Mbasi River, and the Songwe River (Müller 1905), supporting the species’ broad historical and geographical distribution. An ANCOVA on valve width in relation to valve length, applied to Afrocymbella pseudodelphinea sp. nov., A. beccarii from Lake Edward, A. beccarii from Mwanza Gulf, and A. cocquytiana from the Kalambo River (Stone et al. 2022) show significant differences in valve shape among populations and species of Afrocymbella (p = 0.00012) (Fig. 8). Afrocymbella beccarii from Lake Edward exhibited the steepest slope (0.161), which may indicate a rapid decrease in valve length during the vegetative reproduction, resulting in wider valves for the smaller cells. In contrast, A. beccarii from Mwanza Gulf showed a shallower slope (0.058), reflecting a more slender valve length decrease. Concerning A. pseudodelphinea and A. cocquytiana, the first taxon displayed a moderate slope (0.075), while the latter showed the lowest slope (0.047), indicating compact, narrow valves with minimal widening relative to length. All slopes differ significantly by ANCOVA (interaction term F (3, 99) = 7.64, p = 0.00012). The differences in allometric highlight morphological divergence both between species and among populations within A. beccarii.

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