Occurrence records of Terpsinoë musica (Bacillariophyta) from Uganda and South Africa.

Occurrence Specimen
Latest version published by Check List on Jul 21, 2026 Check List
Publication date:
21 July 2026
Published by:
Check List
License:
CC-BY 4.0

Download the latest version of this resource data as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) or the resource metadata as EML or RTF:

Data as a DwC-A file download 4 records in English (6 KB) - Update frequency: not planned
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Description

This dataset contains occurrence records of Terpsinoë musica Ehrenberg from Uganda and South Africa. The records are based on light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination of gut contents of Oreochromis leucostictus from Lake George (Uganda) and an epilithic sample collected from the Nsikazi River (South Africa). These records document the first published occurrences of Terpsinoë musica in both Uganda and South Africa and are made available through GBIF to support biodiversity, taxonomic, biogeographical, and ecological research.

Data Records

The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 4 records.

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

How to cite

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

Rutakaza Nzigire E, Taylor J C, Koen R C J, Van Steenberge M, Bazairi H, Cocquyt C (2026). Occurrence records of Terpsinoë musica (Bacillariophyta) from Uganda and South Africa.. Version 1.1. Check List. Occurrence dataset. https://ipt.pensoft.net/resource?r=terpsinoe-musica-uganda-south-africa&v=1.1

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is Check List. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.

GBIF Registration

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: b124c0eb-c159-46c2-a2e7-849aea758b52.  Check List publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Participant Node Managers Committee.

Keywords

Occurrence Terpsinoë musica diatoms freshwater Lake George Nsikazi River Uganda South Africa epiphyton fish gut contents Oreochromis leucostictus; Specimen

Contacts

Elysée Rutakaza Nzigire
  • User ●
  • Point Of Contact
Laboratory of Biodiversity, Ecology and Genome, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat, Rabat, Morocco; Centre for Environmental Sciences, Hasselt University, Belgium; Center of Research in Hydrobiology, Uvira, D.R. Congo
RABAT
MA
Jonathan C. Taylor
  • Originator
Ruan C. J. Koen
  • Originator
Maarten Van Steenberge
  • Originator
Hocein Bazairi
  • Originator
Christine Cocquyt
  • Originator
Elysée Rutakaza Nzigire
  • User ●
  • Point Of Contact
10100 RABAT
MA

Geographic Coverage

The dataset includes occurrence records of Terpsinoë musica from two freshwater localities in Africa: Lake George in western Uganda and the Nsikazi River, a tributary of the Crocodile River, in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Bounding Coordinates South West [-25.522, 30.289], North East [0.039, 31.368]

Taxonomic Coverage

This dataset includes occurrence records of the diatom species Terpsinoë musica Ehrenberg (Surirellaceae, Bacillariophyta) from freshwater habitats in Uganda and South Africa. The records originate from Lake George (Uganda) and the Nsikazi River (South Africa).

Kingdom Chromista
Phylum Bacillariophyta
Class Bacillariophyceae
Order Surirellales
Family Surirellaceae

Temporal Coverage

Start Date 2016-10-31
Start Date 2019-09-09

Project Data

This project documents the occurrence and distribution of the diatom Terpsinoë musica in Uganda and South Africa based on microscopic examination of fish gut contents and epilithic samples. The project contributes to improving knowledge of the distribution of African diatoms through the publication of verified occurrence records.

Title First record of Terpsinoë musica Ehrenberg (Bacillariophyta) from Uganda and South Africa
Funding This project was supported by the VLIR-UOS Global Minds programme (grant 2324GMBILA06), the Belgian Directorate-General for Development Cooperation (DGD) through the Global Taxonomy Initiative (GTI) within the CEBioS programme, GTI project SO 1-R1.1-1 2023.16, the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO; project BR/154/A1/HIPE), the King Leopold III Fund for Nature Exploration and Conservation, and FWO-Vlaanderen (Research Foundation – Flanders).
Study Area Description Lake George (Western Region, Uganda) and the Nsikazi River (Mpumalanga, South Africa).
Design Description Occurrence records were generated through the examination of fish gut contents using light and scanning electron microscopy and through the analysis of epilithic samples collected during field surveys.

The personnel involved in the project:

Elysée Rutakaza Nzigire
  • Originator
Johnathan C. Taylor
  • Principal Investigator
Ruan C. J. Koen
  • Principal Investigator
Maarten Van Steenberge
  • Content Provider
Hocein bazairi
  • Content Provider
Christine Cocquyt
  • Principal Investigator

Sampling Methods

The Ugandan material originated from Oreochromis leucostictus specimens collected during the HIPE sampling campaign in Lake George. Fish specimens were preserved and deposited in the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) following the museum's standard procedures. Subsequently, the specimens were dissected, and the gut contents were examined for diatoms. The South African material consisted of an epilithic sample collected from rocks and cobblestones during routine water quality monitoring in the Nsikazi River. Diatom samples were cleaned using standard methods and examined using light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Species identification was based on morphological characteristics and relevant taxonomic literature. Each occurrence record represents the presence of Terpsinoë musica in an individual fish specimen or in a single epilithic sample. Multiple valves or frustules may have been observed within each occurrence.

Study Extent The dataset comprises four occurrence records of Terpsinoë musica Ehrenberg from two sampling localities in Africa: Lake George (Western Region, Uganda) and the Nsikazi River (Mpumalanga, South Africa). Three occurrence records represent the presence of the species in the gut contents of three individual Oreochromis leucostictus specimens collected from Lake George on 31 October 2016, while one occurrence record represents the presence of the species in an epilithic sample collected from the Nsikazi River on 9 September 2019.
Quality Control Species identifications were verified by diatom specialists using LM and SEM observations. Scientific names follow the currently accepted taxonomy. Geographic coordinates, collection dates, and occurrence information were checked against the original field records and the associated publication before publication through GBIF.

Method step description:

  1. Fish and epilithic samples were collected from Lake George (Uganda) and the Nsikazi River (South Africa). Fish specimens were preserved and deposited in the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA). Fish were dissected, and gut contents were examined for diatoms. Diatom samples were cleaned and analysed using light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Diatom specimens were identified based on their morphological characteristics. Occurrence records were compiled following the Darwin Core standard and prepared for publication through GBIF.

Collection Data

Collection Name Diatom collection
Specimen preservation methods Microscopic preparation

Bibliographic Citations

  1. Rutakaza Nzigire ER, Taylor JC, Koen RCJ, Van Steenberge M, Bazairi H, Cocquyt C. First record of Terpsinoë musica Ehrenberg (Bacillariophyta) from Uganda and South Africa. Check List. In press.

Additional Metadata

Acknowledgements This study was supported by the VLIR-UOS Global Minds programme, the Belgian Directorate-General for Development Cooperation (DGD) through the CEBioS Global Taxonomy Initiative (GTI), the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO), the King Leopold III Fund for Nature Exploration and Conservation, and FWO-Vlaanderen (Research Foundation – Flanders). We also acknowledge the contributions of the HIPE project team for field sampling.
Introduction This dataset contains occurrence records of Terpsinoë musica Ehrenberg (Bacillariophyta, Surirellaceae) from Uganda and South Africa. The records are based on light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations of material collected from Lake George (Uganda) and the Nsikazi River (South Africa). These records were generated as part of the study "First record of Terpsinoë musica Ehrenberg (Bacillariophyta) from Uganda and South Africa" and contribute to documenting the known distribution of the species.
Getting Started The dataset consists of four occurrence records formatted according to the Darwin Core standard. These records originate from two collection events: one at Lake George, Uganda, where Terpsinoë musica was observed in three individual fish specimens, and one at the Nsikazi River, South Africa, where the species was recorded from an epilithic sample. Each occurrence record includes taxonomic information, collection event details, geographic coordinates, habitat, sampling protocol, collector, and associated specimen information where available.
Purpose The purpose of this dataset is to document and disseminate occurrence records of Terpsinoë musica Ehrenberg from Uganda and South Africa. The dataset supports the first published records of the species from both countries and contributes to improving knowledge of its geographic distribution in Africa.
Alternative Identifiers https://ipt.pensoft.net/resource?r=terpsinoe-musica-uganda-south-africa