Sporolithon indopacificum sp. nov. (Sporolithales, Rhodophyta) from tropical western Indian and western Pacific oceans: First report, confirmed by DNA sequence data, of a widely distributed species of Sporolithon

Abstract

Sporolithon indopacificum sp. nov. is characterized from Zanzibar Island, Tanzania. rbcL and psbA markers indicate that the species is unique compared to all other Sporolithon species that have thus far been sequenced. The species previously had been collected at Nukulau, Suva, Fiji and identified as S. episporum. The two species bear a close morpho-anatomical resemblance differing only by degree in three measured tetra/bisporangial characters. This is the first Sporolithon species confirmed to be widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific based on DNA sequences.