Abstract
BackgroundIn the marine brown macroalgae, the morphological characters are highly similar between two widely distributed genera, Homoeostrichus and Zonaria (Dictyotaceae), thereby resulting in the difficulty of exploring their hidden biodiversity. Owing to the help of the molecular tools, it is now easy for scientists to objectively describe a new species in nature. In this study, we make a description on the Homoeostrichus formosana sp. nov. from Taiwan, Indo-Pacific Ocean based on the morphological evidence and molecular data.ResultsOur morphological observations revealed that this species has marginal row of apical cells responsible for thallus growth and the thallus with four layers of cells except the marginal regions. The cortical cell lies upon each medullary cell in transverse section, and two cortical cells upon each medullary cell in longitudinal section. Tetrasporangium is developed from cortical cell with stalk cell and singly scattered over the thallus surface, and has no indusia and paraphyses. Molecularly, the phylogenetic trees based on SSU, psaA, psbA, and rbcL gene sequences supported that Homoeostrichus species are closely related to Exallosorus species and clearly separated from each others in addition to Zonaria species.ConclusionsHomoeostrichus formosana sp. nov. can now be clearly distinguished from E. harveyanus and Japanese H. flabellatus.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1999-3110-54-13) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
In the marine brown macroalgae, the morphological characters are highly similar between two widely distributed genera, Homoeostrichus and Zonaria (Dictyotaceae), thereby resulting in the difficulty of exploring their hidden biodiversity
Homoeostrichus formosana sp. nov. is mainly characterized by blades composing of two to four layers of cells, single tetrasporangia scattered over both thallus surfaces, sporangia borne on a stalk cell, and lacking indusium and paraphyses
We found the sporangia in H. formosana sp. nov. are singly scattered over the surfaces of the thallus without forming a sorus and lacking indusium and paraphyses (Table 3)
Summary
In the marine brown macroalgae, the morphological characters are highly similar between two widely distributed genera, Homoeostrichus and Zonaria (Dictyotaceae), thereby resulting in the difficulty of exploring their hidden biodiversity. Genus Homoeostrichus was established to include Zonaria canaliculata J. Agardh and Z. tournefortii (Lamouroux) Montagne are widely distributed from subtropical to temperate waters (Børgesen 1926; Taylor 1960; Gayral 1966; Allender and Kraft 1983; Seagarief 1984; Yoshida et al 1985; Silva et al 1987, 1996; Womersley 1987; Farrant and King 1989; Ribera et al 1992; Phillips et al 1994; Phillips 1997; Phillips and Clayton 1997; Yoshida 1998)
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