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The "public boats", mentioned in the inscription IosPE I2, 32, found in Olbia, have been identified variously as warships or as state merchantmen. This statement is all the more important since it would imply that cities may have owned merchantmen. Nevertheless, it seemed to many scholars that ancient cities were unable to maintain commercial ships. Therefore, it was suggested at first that these πλοῖα δημόζια could have been triereis, as the word πλοῖον, although used most often for merchantmen, is occasionally applied to fighting ships. However, Xenophon‟s recommendation to create a fleet of public merchantmen reveals that the existence of such boats was not an extravagant idea. Moreover, a close reading of the inscription IosPE I2, 32 shows that these πλοῖα δημόζια were probably used to carry stones for the repair of the rampart. Yet triereis were not suitable to convey ashlars, as their hull was too narrow. Last but not least, the existence of πλοῖα δημόζια is very well evidenced in 4th-century-CE Egypt. Thus, it was quite feasible for ancient cities to maintain public boats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While conducting surveys of marine phytoplankton from coastal waters of the Anegada Bay (Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina) we found several eupodiscoid diatoms belonging to the genus Odontella sensu lato. Raw and cleaned samples collected at Los Pocitos, Ría del Jabalí and San Blas between 2008 and 2010, were analyzed with light and scanning electron microscopy. Based on a morphological analysis, species with loculate areolae and ocellus-bearing elevations are included in the genera Trieres (T. mobiliensis and T. sinensis) and Zygoceros (Zygoceros atlanticus comb. nov.), while species with poroid or pseudoloculate areolae and ocellus-bearing elevations are provisionally included in Odontella (O. longicruris, O. obtusa and O. rostrata). Zygoceros is revisited based on analysis of type material of species previously included in Odontella (O. atlantica, O. rhomboides and O. rhombus), their description is emended, and correct names of the transferred species are established (Zygoceros atlanticus comb. nov. and Z. ehrenbergii nom. nov.). Trieres differs from Zygoceros by having a ridge between its valve surface and mantle, longer slender polar elevations, longer external rimoportula tubes, and a planktonic style life. Following transfer of taxa with loculate areolae to Trieres and Zygoceros, Odontella only includes species with poroid and pseudoloculate areolae. Further research is necessary to establish the circumscription of Odontella, thus our conclusions are provisional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]