| Nitzschia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nitzschia sp. | |
 | |
| Amicrofossil ofNitzschia kerguelensis inmarine sediment | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Diaphoretickes |
| Clade: | SAR |
| Clade: | Stramenopiles |
| Phylum: | Gyrista |
| Subphylum: | Ochrophytina |
| Class: | Bacillariophyceae |
| Order: | Bacillariales |
| Family: | Bacillariaceae |
| Genus: | Nitzschia Hassall, 1845 |
| Species | |
See text | |
Nitzschia is a common pennate marine and freshwater[1]diatom. In the scientific literature, this genus, named afterChristian Ludwig Nitzsch, is sometimes referred to incorrectly asNitzchia, and it has many species described, which all have a similar morphology. In its currentcircumscription,Nitzschia isparaphyletic.[2]
Nitzschia is found mostly in colder waters, and is associated with bothArctic andAntarctic polarsea ice, where it is often found to be the dominant diatom.Nitzschia includes several species of diatoms known to produce theneurotoxin known as domoic acid, a toxin responsible for the human illness calledamnesic shellfish poisoning. The speciesN. frigida is found to grow exponentially even at temperatures between −4 and −6 °C.[3] SomeNitzschia species are alsoextremophiles by dint of tolerance to highsalinity; for example, somehalophilic species ofNitzschia are found in theMakgadikgadi Pans inBotswana.[4]
The genusNitzschia includes more than 1280 species and variants — for more information, see:"Genus:Nizschia".algaebase.org. Some of these are:
Media related toNitzschia at Wikimedia Commons