A New Record of the Rare Freshwater Red AlgaTuomeya americana(Batrachospermaceae, Rhodophyta) from Connecticut

Abstract

Members of the freshwater red algal order Batrachospermales are widely distributed across the northeastern US. Among them, the monotypic Tuomeya is the least reported genus, showing a sporadic distribution and being documented by decreasingly frequent reports. This study presents a new find of T. americana from Connecticut and is the first published Connecticut record of the species since 1890. I conducted an extensive literature search and review of herbarium records in order to summarize the known occurrence data for T. americana in New England. From my compilation it appears that the species has been reported with decreasing frequency, but it cannot be determined whether the sparse records reflect a true rarity and decline of T. americana or dwindling floristic efforts in New England. The present study underscores the importance of continuous floristic work aiming to better understand the distributions of algal species.