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Volume 18
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10.3390/w18020246
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Article

Exploring and Documenting Wadi Phycodiversity: Cosmarium yassinii sp. nov. (Desmidiaceae, Charophyta)—A New Desmid Species from Egypt

by
Abdullah A. Saber
1,2,
Mostafa M. El-Sheekh
3,
Forough Salehipour-Bavarsad
4,5,
Hoda H. Senousy
6,
Nicola Angeli
7,
Frans A. C. Kouwets
8,† and
Marco Cantonati
2,*
1
Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Abbassia Square, Cairo 11566, Egypt
2
Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences—BiGeA, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
3
Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta 31527, Egypt
4
Microbial Biotechnology Department, Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (ABRII), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj 31535-1897, Iran
5
Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj Campus, Tehran 77871-31587, Iran
6
Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt
7
Research & Collections Department (Limnology & Phycology), MUSE—Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, 38123 Trento, Italy
8
Independent Researcher, Kopakker 1, 1541TP Koog aan de Zaan, The Netherlands
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
This author has retired.
Water 2026, 18(2), 246; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18020246
Submission received: 7 December 2025 / Revised: 5 January 2026 / Accepted: 14 January 2026 / Published: 16 January 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Protection and Restoration of Freshwater Ecosystems)
Versions Notes

Abstract

A new desmid microalga species, Cosmarium yassinii A.A. Saber, El-Sheekh, Kouwets et Cantonati sp. nov., was isolated from two hyper-arid mountain valleys, so-called “wadis”, in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. The distinctive morphological features of this new species were established using light and scanning electron microscopy observations, and also by documenting its life-cycle stages. Taxonomically, C. yassinii is characterized by a cell wall sculpture consisting of isolated granules or small warts arranged circularly in the swollen mid-region of each semicell, never forming parallel vertical ridges or costae as in morphologically similar species, and the interesting shape of the marginal granules appears as small emarginate “combs” or crenae, including its knobby zygospores. Similarities and differences with the morphologically most closely related species are discussed in detail. Ecologically, C. yassinii seems to prefer alkaline freshwater environments with lower nutrient concentrations and a NaCl/HCO3 water type. The detailed assessment and documentation of the biodiversity of these peculiar freshwater ecosystems are a fundamental prerequisite to adequately inform their protection strategies.
Keywords: desmids; Africa; life-cycle stages; novel species; fine ultrastructure desmids; Africa; life-cycle stages; novel species; fine ultrastructure

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MDPI and ACS Style

Saber, A.A.; El-Sheekh, M.M.; Salehipour-Bavarsad, F.; Senousy, H.H.; Angeli, N.; Kouwets, F.A.C.; Cantonati, M. Exploring and Documenting Wadi Phycodiversity: Cosmarium yassinii sp. nov. (Desmidiaceae, Charophyta)—A New Desmid Species from Egypt. Water 2026, 18, 246. https://doi.org/10.3390/w18020246

AMA Style

Saber AA, El-Sheekh MM, Salehipour-Bavarsad F, Senousy HH, Angeli N, Kouwets FAC, Cantonati M. Exploring and Documenting Wadi Phycodiversity: Cosmarium yassinii sp. nov. (Desmidiaceae, Charophyta)—A New Desmid Species from Egypt. Water. 2026; 18(2):246. https://doi.org/10.3390/w18020246

Chicago/Turabian Style

Saber, Abdullah A., Mostafa M. El-Sheekh, Forough Salehipour-Bavarsad, Hoda H. Senousy, Nicola Angeli, Frans A. C. Kouwets, and Marco Cantonati. 2026. "Exploring and Documenting Wadi Phycodiversity: Cosmarium yassinii sp. nov. (Desmidiaceae, Charophyta)—A New Desmid Species from Egypt" Water 18, no. 2: 246. https://doi.org/10.3390/w18020246

APA Style

Saber, A. A., El-Sheekh, M. M., Salehipour-Bavarsad, F., Senousy, H. H., Angeli, N., Kouwets, F. A. C., & Cantonati, M. (2026). Exploring and Documenting Wadi Phycodiversity: Cosmarium yassinii sp. nov. (Desmidiaceae, Charophyta)—A New Desmid Species from Egypt. Water, 18(2), 246. https://doi.org/10.3390/w18020246

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