Planktonic Diatoms of the Bay of Bengal in the Bangladesh Part: An Annotated Checklist and Key with Natural History Notes

The estuaries of the Bay of Bengal are important for fisheries sector. This sector of fisheries is supported by phytoplankton, which enter into the food chain. But no information is available on the phytoplankton of the Bay of Bengal in the Bangladesh part. A total of fifty-three phytoplankton samples from nine locations were collected during November 2011 to March 2013 from five ranges covering about 75% of the Bay of Bengal in the Bangladesh part. A total of 11 phytoplankton taxa included Amphiprora alata (Ehrenberg) Kützing, Chaetoceros coronatus Gran, Chaetoceros pendulus Karsten, Chaetoceros socialis H.S.Lauder, Lioloma delicatulum (Cupp) Hasle, Navicula brekkaensis J. B. Petersen, Nitzschia inconspicua Grunow, Surirella fastuosa (Ehrenberg) Kützing, Thalassionema nitzschioides (Grunow) Mereschkowsky, Thalassiosira rotula Meunier, and an unidentified centric diatom, were found for the first time in the Bay of Bengal of Bangladesh part. These taxa were not recorded from the Bay of Bengal of Myanmar part.