The study of the genus Hantzschia in samples from lakes, wetlands, canals and ponds in the Rio Grande do Sul Coastal Plain (30°40'-30°10' S; 50°30'-50°30' W), during fall and spring of 2003, revealed the presence of one specific and six infra-specific taxa, as follows: Hantzschia amphioxys (Ehrenberg) Grunow, its varieties (var. amphioxys and var. vivax Grunow) and form (f. capitata O. Müller), H. elongata (Hatzsch) Grunow with two varieties (var. elongata and var. linearis O. Müller), H. virgata (Roper) Grunow and Hantzschia sp. Descriptions, illustrations, identification keys and comments on morphological variation and the distribution of the taxa are presented. It is worth mentioning the presence of H. elongata var. linearis and Hantzschia sp. recorded for the first time in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
diatoms; morphology; taxonomy
