Twenty Marine Benthic Algae New to South Africa, with Emphasis on the Flora of Kwazulu-Natal

Abstract

A total of 20 new records of benthic marine algae has been added to the flora of South Africa, consisting of 6 taxa of Phaeophyta and 14 Rhodophyta. Most species have a pantropical or Indo-Pacific distribution and are generally known from several localities in the Indian Ocean (e.g. Asteronema breviarticulatum, Ceramium cingulatum , Dictyota cervicornis , D. ciliolata , Euptilota fergusonii , Galaxaura rugosa , Halymenia durvillei , Phacelocarpus tristichus ). Others are only known from a limited number of reports scattered within the Indo-Pacific region ( Balliella crouanioides , Gibsmithia hawaiiensis , Predaea weldii , Hypoglossum minimum ), possibly due to their subtidal habitat or small size. Apart from those algae with a large distribution range, some species show a distinctive southern Australian–South African distribution pattern ( Carpopeltis phyllophora , Plocamium mertensii ). Only Digeneopsis subopaca , originally described from Mozambique, appears to represent a local endemic species.