New record of the pantropical seagrass Halophila decipiens Ostenfeld (Hydrocharitaceae) from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

Abstract

Abstract The pantropical seagrass Halophila decipiens (Hydrocharitaceae), representing a new record for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, was reported from two locations: Scissostris Bay of Port Blair at 6–7 m deep and Nursery of Neil Island at 10–12 m deep. Observations on the reproductive and vegetative characters indicate that the flowering plant is monoecious, has a pair of petiolated leaves with a hairy surface and serrated leaf blade margins with 5–9 cross leaf veins. Leaf morphometric characters varied significantly between the two sites. The leaves of the Scissostris Bay specimens were smaller (1.11×0.4 cm) than the leaves of the specimens from Neil Island (1.73×0.59 cm), which might be due to the deeper depth ranges at Neil Island or other environmental factors. The present record is the 11th seagrass species from the Islands and this species could have been overlooked due to its habitat in deeper water.