Diatom assemblages from an Eemian palaeolake in Northern Europe with morphological observations of rare Aulacoseira sp. resting spores

Abstract

An overview of the diatom flora of the last interglacial (Eemian) lacustrine gyttja deposit at Sokli, northeastern Finland is presented together with descriptions including photomicrographs of resting spores similar to the Aulacoseira islandica-skvortzowii group, not found in recent material from Europe. Comparisons are made with literature data on similar taxa. The morphology of the resting spores (e.g., the number of striae and areolae in 10 µm) links them to the A. islandica-skvortzowii group, but the lack of vegetative cells in the Sokli record makes the determination of true synonymy difficult. The presence of spores similar/related to the A. islandica-skvortzowii group in the Sokli Eemian palaeolake may reflect a more widespread distribution of this group in the past.