Etheliaceae fam. nov. (Gigartinales, Rhodophyta), with a clarification of the generitype of Ethelia and the addition of six novel species from warm waters.

Abstract

Based upon COI-5P, LSU rDNA, and rbcL sequence data and morphological characteristics, six new members of the noncalcified crustose genus of red algae Ethelia are described in a new family, Etheliaceae (Gigartinales), sister to the recently described Ptilocladiopsidaceae. The novel species are described from subtropical to tropical Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Ocean basins; E.mucronata sp. nov. and E.denizotii sp. nov. from southern and northern Western Australia respectively, E.wilcei sp. nov. from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands of Australia, E.suluensis sp. nov. from the Philippines, E.umbricola sp. nov. from Bermuda and E.kraftii sp. nov. from Lord Howe Island, Australia. The generitype, Ethelia biradiata, originally reported from the Seychelles, Indian Ocean, is added to the Western Australian flora.