Freshwater desmid diversity along Naga thrust: A hydrocarbon province of South-East Asia

Explorations were made to enumerate and document desmid diversity of the Naga thrust abounding crude oil contaminated waterbodies of Southeast Asia. A total of 111 desmid species were recorded belonging to 11 genera under 2 families. Among these, 25 desmid taxa were reported new to Indian flora whose detailed taxonomic account was given. Also, 69 desmid taxa were reported for the first time from the Naga thrust province. Cosmarium was the dominant genus amongst them with 32 species whereas Micrasterias (2 species) and Hyalotheca (2 species) showed least number of species representation.