Diatom community attached to the rock of stone chamber of Ishibutai ancient tomb in Asuka Town, Nara Prefecture, Japan

Abstract

The diatom community attached to the rock of stone, chamber of Ishibutai ( a destroyed ancient tomb in Asuka Town, Nara Prefecture, Japan ) was investigated.
The community was composed of 21 taxa ( three centric taxa and 18 pennate taxa ), and predominated by Navicula contenta and Melosira muscigena, both of which have been reported from moist rocks or moss. Light and electron micro-photographs of M. muscigena IWAHASHI from Ishibutai tomb showed that Melosira ruttneri described by HUSTEDT ( 1937 ) from Java and Sumatra is a later synonym of M. muscigena.