Dasya adela sp. nov. (Rhodophyta,Ceramiales), an enigmatic new Dasya from a landlocked fjord in southwest Norway

We here report a new Dasya species found in a landlocked fjord or poll in southwestern Norway; Dasya adela sp. nov. The thallus of this species is small (1–3 cm), normally sparsely branched, and its axes are completely covered with cortex cells. The species is set with long (3–4 mm) and flaccid monosiphonous pseudolaterals, and during autumn it showed high growth of adventitious monosiphonous branches. Only a few individuals with tetrasporangia have been recorded, and no sexual reproductive structures have been observed in field collections. In culture stichidia readily developed on the pseudolaterals, with four tetrasporangia per section. The spores showed high mortality. A few sporelings survived in culture, and developed into small and loosely organized filaments with no upright axes. After 2 years in culture a few plants bearing spermatangial branches were observed, but no individuals with carpogonia. The monosiphonous branches are readily shed in culture, attach themselves by rhizoids and rapidly develop into new thalli, some of which have produced tetrasporangial stichidia. Sequences analyses of partial COI and the rbc L gene showed that the new taxon belongs within Dasyoideae. However, no close relationship was found with other European species of Dasya. The new taxon was compared to other Dasya taxa with which it shared a number of selected characters, but none of these taxa shared all characters of the new Dasya.     

Dasya enomotoi sp. nov. (Dasyaceae,Ceramiales), a new large Dasya from Japan

A new red alga, Dasya enomotoi, is described from Japan. This species is characterized by having a large thallus consisting of an elongated axis and many, radially arranged, polysiphonous branches both of which are heavily corticated and densely covered with numerous, soft monosiphonous filaments. It is distinguished from several similar species by the combination of the following: (i) indistinct pericentral cells in transverse sections except near the apices, (ii) the presence of enlarged, inner cortical cells, (iii) radially arranged adventitious monosiphonous filaments, (iv) three‐celled carpogonial branches, (v) six (sometimes five) tetrasporangia in each fertile segment of the stichidia, and (vi) three tetrasporangial cover cells that are not elongated longitudinally and usually not divided transversely. This species may have been identified as D. villosa Harvey by previous investigators in Japan.     

New records of three marine red algae from Japan

Three species in the red algal order Ceramiales, Dasya longifila Masuda et Uwai (Dasyaceae), Endosiphonia horrida (C. Agardh) P. Silva (Rhodomelaceae) and Laurencia flexilis Setchell (Rhodomelaceae), are reported from Japan for the first time, and their morphological features are described along with taxonomic comments. Our findings point to the northernmost limit of geographic distribution of these species in the north‐western Pacific. Dasya longifila is characterized by small, sparsely corticated axes, long pseudolaterals in which intercalary cell divisions take place, and a small number of tetrasporangial stichidia and spermatangial branches per fertile pseudolateral. Endosiphonia horrida is characterized by frequently anastomosing branches that form a bush‐like tuft without a percurrent axis, inner cortical cells becoming the same length as the axial and periaxial cells, and luxuriously developed, unbranched trichoblasts. Laurencia flexilis is characterized by numerous cartilaginous rigid axes developing from a basal disc without creeping branches, the production of 4 periaxial cells per vegetative segment and the absence of longitudinally oriented secondary pit‐connections between contiguous superficial cortical cells.     

Some new species and new combinations of marine red algae from the central Pacific

Six new species in five genera of Rhodophyta are described. A new combination for Polyopes hakalauensis is also proposed. These taxa were encountered while preparing a manual of marine red algae of the Hawaiian Islands. Among the Halymeniales, two blade-like species of Halymenia, H. cromwellii sp. nov. and H. stipi-tata sp. nov., are distinguished from other species by habit and anatomical differences, including the possession of a stipe by the second. Halymenia hakalauensis Tilden 1902 is transferred to Polyopes as P. hakalauensis (Tilden) Abbott, replacing P. hawaiiensis Kajimura which is considered a synonym. A new species of Prionitis, P. corymbifera sp. nov., shows a corymbose branching pattern different from the mostly pinnate to subdichotomous branching of Japanese and Californian species. In the Gigartinales, Chondracanthus okamurae Abbott is named for a specimen which Okamura included in his understanding of Gigartina (now Chondracanthus tenellus), but which has terete axes, differing from C. tenellus (Harvey) Hommersand which is com-planate throughout. Chondracanthus intermedius (Sur-ingar) Hommersand is placed in synonymy with C. tenellus. The occurrence of C. tenellus in Hawai'i is a new distribution record from Asia. Three new species are added to the Ceramiales, Ceramium tranquillum Meneses (Ceramiaceae), Dasya kristeniae sp. nov. and Dasya murrayana Abbott & Millar (Dasyaceae). Distinctive features of Ceramium tranquillum are internodes that are three to five times longer than the height of nodes, and nodes that never project beyond the diameter of the internodes, giving straight margins except when fertile. Dasya kristeniae is a diminutive epiphyte which is nearly ecorticate, with tetrasporangial stichidia that are rectangular having apices that are curved or nodding, and cystocarps that have flaring ostioles above a constricted pericarp. Dasya murrayana was earlier misidentified with Dasya iyengarii Børgesen, and re-examination of those plants show continuous cortication throughout, where cortication is almost completely lacking in D. iyengarii except near the base. Dasya murrayana has a tufted habit, with indeterminate branches about the same sizes as the main axes, the plants growing on rock, whereas plants of D. iyengarii are not tufted, with indeterminate branches attenuate, and an epiphytic habit.     

Taxonomic notes on three species of Herposiphonia (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta) found in Japan

Three species of the red algal genus Herposiphonia (Ceramiales, Rhodomelaceae) found in Japan are described, and taxonomic features of the genus are discussed. Herposiphonia crassa Hollenberg is reported from Japan for the first time and is characterized by thick axes (200–350 µm in diameter) and determinate branches (100–200 µm in diameter), relatively short determinate laterals (400–1200 µm in length) with a large number of periaxial cells (15–19 per segment) and three (occasionally two or four) vigorously developed (1.8–2.5 mm in length by 50–75 µm in diameter basally) trichoblasts on each determinate lateral. Herposiphonia elongata Masuda et Kogame is also reported from Japan for the first time and is characterized by the conspicuous thickening growth of cystocarp‐bearing branches and spermatangial branches with an elongated sterile tip. Some newly found features of Herposiphonia fissidentoides (Holmes) Okamura are presented: the rhizoid production from the central portion of parental periaxial cells in addition to the distal end, virtual absence of vegetative trichoblasts, production of procarpial trichoblasts and spermatangial branches on fertile determinate branches on short indeterminate laterals, cystocarps sometimes with a short spur, and extremely large tetrasporangia.     

DASYA ROSLYNIAE SP. NOV. (DASYACEAE,RHODOPHYTA), WITH A DISCUSSION ON GENERIC DISTINCTIONS AMONG DASYA,EUPOGODON, RHODOPTILUM,AND POGONOPHORELLA1

Dasya roslyniae sp. nov. (Dasyaceae, Rhodophyta) is described from subtidal habitats at Split Solitary Island (30°14′S, 153°11′E), New South Wales, Australia. The new species is distinct within the genus due to its strongly compressed and secondarily bilaterally branched axes, differing from the majority of Dasya species that are terete and secondarily radially organized. Pseudolaterals are quickly caducous on ventral and dorsal (transverse) surfaces but are persistent on lateral surfaces for short distances from the apex, leaving the bulk of the plants flattened and denuded. Its gross morphological characters are thus similar to those displayed by the genera Pogonophorella, Eupogodon (formerly known as Dasyopsis), and Rhodoptilum. Characters used for separating these genera and Dasya are, in some cases, overlapping and in need of critical evaluation. To the primarily radially organized taxa, determined by examination of divisions of the apical cell, are placed species of Dasya, six species now included in Eupogodon, and the type and only species of Pogonophorella californica. Examination of the activity of the apical cells of Eupogodon planum and Rhodoptilum plumosum, the type species of their genera, confirms the primary bilaterality of these two genera, and the traditional defining feature of Eupogodon (lack of discernible pericentral cells in cross-section of indeterminate axes) is shown to be untenable. A secondary character that would separate Eupogodon and Rhodoptilum is the polysiphonous bases of otherwise monosiphonous laterals (pseudolaterals) in Eupogodon and the monosiphonous bases in Rhodoptilum.     

A new crustose red alga Peyssonnelia rumoiana (Rhodophyta, Gigartinales) from Japan

The marine red alga Peyssonnelia rumoiana Kato et Masuda, sp. nov. (Peyssonneliaceae, Gigartinales) is described from warm‐ and cold‐temperate regions in Japan. It is principally characterized by having hypo‐thallial filaments comprising a polyflabelate layer, proximal perithallial cells arising from the whole upper surface of each hypothallial cell (Peyssonnelia rubra‐type anatomy) and closely packed in a firm matrix, the production of two filaments from the proximal perithallial cell, unicellular rhizoids, appressed crust margins and hypobasal calcification. The alga is distinguished from related species by: (i) its conspicuously elevated cystocarpic (100–150 μm high) and tetrasporangial (80–110 μm high) nemathecia; (ii) tetrasporangia with or without a unicellular pedicel; and (iii) large (25–45 μm in diameter by 70–115 μm in length) tetrasporangia and (iv) the production of double chains of spermatangia (Peyssonnelia harveyana‐type spermatangial development).     

Chromosome numbers in the algae: Phaeophyta II

L-systems provide a method for modelling seaweed branching patterns in terms of simple rules. These rules can be used to generate computer graphics images of an alga's basic architecture, which, of course, is often obscured by adventiltious growth in living plants. L-systems provide a mathematical abstraction that allows us to compare species by focusing on essential differences in their substitution rules rather than relying entirely on the visual appearance of branching patterns. Two species of red algae from closely related genera in the Dasyaceae—Dasya rigidula and Dasysiphonia concinna—are virtually identical in pseudolateral branching detail and appear to diverge solely in terms of pseudolateral position. L-systems models and their graphical representations are presented to demonstrate that the two-dimensional, alternate-distichous pattern of pseudolateral position for Dasysiphonia concinna can be derived in a straightforward way from that of the three-dimensional, spiralled pattern of Dasya rigidula. These models illustrate a case in which generic distinction is based upon an easily observable but relatively trivial feature, differences other than branching pattern being quite subtle.     

Reproductive morphology and taxonomic reappraisal of Exophyllum wentii Weber-van Bosse (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta) from Bali Island, Indonesia

The little‐known and rarely collected alga Exophyllum wentii Weber‐van Bosse is re‐described in detail from the type material, as well as from new collections from Indonesia, which for the first time reveal in detail the structure of cystocarpic and spermatangial plants and the development of tetrasporangial stichidia under culture conditions. New morphological reproductive information confirms placement of the genus Exophyllum within the Rhodomelaceae. Exophyllum is distinguished from other related genera within the Rhodomelaceae by its cartilaginous, non‐trichoblastic decumbent thallus with multiple holdfasts and its discoid spermatangial organs. Some Pacific material earlier attributed to E. wentii was found to be misidentified and re‐assigned to the Dasyaceae.     

MORPHOLOGY AND SYSTEMATICS OF RHODOCALLIS ELEGANS, RHODOCALLIDEAE, TRIB. NOV. (CERAMIACEAE, RHODOPHYTA), FROM SOUTHEASTERN AUSTRALIA

Recent collections of Rhodocallis elegans Kützing from southeastern Australia have permitted detailed observations of vegetative and reproductive structures that reveal features not exhibited by any existing tribe of Ceramiaceae. As a consequence, we establish the new tribe Rhodocallideae based on the unispecific genus Rhodocallis. Defining characters include: 1) four periaxial cells cut off in an alternating (rhodomelaceous) sequence; 2) determinate branchlets of two types: a) persistent lateral branchlets produced from the first-formed periaxial cells, and b) deciduous transverse branchlets produced from the second and third periaxial cells, with cortical filaments issuing from all four periaxial cells; 3) first- and second-order determinate branchlets terminated by thick-walled spines; 4) indeterminate branches formed at the tips of directly converted determinate branchlets; 5) axial cells of indeterminate branches heavily corticated by a cylinder of descending rhizoidal filaments; 6) spermatangial parent cells borne directly on unmodified outer cortical cells; 7) carpogonial branches borne in series on second and third periaxial cells of modified indeterminate axes; 8) procarps lacking sterile-cell groups; 9) a single derivative of the zygote nucleus transferred from the carpogonium to the auxiliary cell directly through a tube rather than by means of a connecting cell; 10) gonimoblasts surrounded by a network of rhizoidal filaments through which the gonimolobes protrude, the carposporophyte subtended by an investment of determinate branchlets; and 11) tetrasporangia tetrahedrally divided, borne on surface cortical cells of special determinate branchlets and protruding outside the cuticular layer.     

Taxonomic study of the genus Spongomorpha (Acrosiphoniales,Chlorophyta) in Japan. I. Spongomorpha spiralis*

The morphology, life history, and the geographical distribution of Spongomorpha spiralis Sakai in Hokkaido, Japan, was studied. The thallus is characterized by its digitate tufts (bundles) of slender filaments with hooked branchlets. The diameter of the filaments is usually 20-50 μm in the basal portion, 50-130 (70-110) μm in the middle portion of main axes, and 30-150 μm in the upper portion. The diameter of the middle portion of the main axes varies from locality to locality. At Muroran, for example, the range is 70-130 μm (average approximately 100 μm), while at other localities it is 50–100 μm (average approximately 70 μm). The diameter of filaments in the upper portion decreases toward the end of the growing season. The cells are multinucleate with four chromosomes in each nucleus of the haploid plant. The manner of cell division is identical to the process reported previously for the Spongomorpha-Acrosiphonia complex. Sexual reproduction is isogamous with anteriorly biflagellate gametes. Plants are unisexual. The life history involves an alternation of heteromorphic generations: the gametophytic phase is a macroscopic, filamentous thallus and the sporophytic phase is a microscopic, ellipsoidal or club-shaped cell. Optimal culture condition for growth and reproduction of both stages was 5°C and long daylength. The gametophyte developed abnormally at 15°C. The sporophyte developed normally at 15°C, but did not produce zoospores.     

New red alga, Acanthopeltis longiramulosa sp. nov. (Gelidiales, Rhodophyta) from Jeju Island, Korea

A new red alga from Jeju Island, Korea is described. The alga is assigned to Acanthopeltis, Gelidiaceae by the characteristics of terete erect axes, sympodial growth, and suborbicular branchlets that are amplexi‐caul at the base. Acanthopeltis longiramulosaY. Lee et Kim is characterized by a discoid holdfast with a few stolons, rhizoids arising from the apex of the branchlet, an erect terete axis diverging into a few branches, longish obpyriform to lanceolate branchlets with smooth surfaces, and tetrasporangial stichidia or sper‐matangial and cystocarps appendages on the marginal region of the branchlet. A. longiramulosa is more closely related to Acanthopeltis japonica than Acanthopeltis hirsuta in terms of thallus morphology. However, A. longiramulosa is easily distinguished from A. japonica, which has suborbicular branchlets with setaceous processes on both surfaces.     

BATRACHOSPERMUM HETEROCORTICUM SP. NOV. AND POLYSIPHONIA SUBTILISSIMA (RHODOPHYTA) FROM FLORIDA SPRING-FED STREAMS1

Polysiphonia subtilissima Mont. Is reported for the first time from a freshwater environment. The presence of four pericentral cells, subdichotomous branching, apical trichoblasts and rhizoids arising from pericentral cells combined with a lack of cortication and reproductive cells is consistent with marine populations of this species. The range of filament length is 1.4–4.7 cm. Branch diameters are 38–76 μm and pericentral cell lengths are 58–125 μm. Batrachospermum heterocorticum sp. nov. is distinguished primarily by a developmental change in cortical filaments from typical cylindrical cells (5.0–7.9 μm diam in initial stages to enlarged, elliptical cells (12.9–24.1 μm diam) in mature axes. Another unique feature of this species is carpogonia with cylindrical, pedicellate trichogynes on stringht carpogonial branches in mid to outer portions of lateral whorls. Other characteristics of B. heterocorticum include the following: olive-green color, 2–6 cm length, dichotomous to trichotomous fascicles in 4–7 tiers, 385–647 μm whorl diameters, 109–198 μm carpospore diameters and relatively small “chantransia” filaments.     

DISTRIBUTION AND SYSTEMATICS OF FRESHWATER CERAMIALES (RHODOPHYTA) IN NORTH AMERICA1

Twenty-five freshwater populations of Ceramiales were collected in North America, 24 of which were from the tropical rainforest region of Central America and the Caribbean. The streams tended to be moderate in mean current velocity (X?= 23.3 cm·S^?1) and maximum width (X?= 6.3 m) but high in temperature (X?= 23.1°C), pH (X?= 7.9), and specific conductance (X?= 320 μS·cm^?1). Three Bostrychia species were restricted to the Caribbean islands: B. moritziana (Sonder ex Kütz.) J. Ag. (syn. B. cornigera Mont. and B. radicans f. moliforme Post), with ecorticate indeterminate axes, monosiphonous ultimate branches, and cladohaptera; B. radicans (Mont.) Mont. (syn. B. leprieurii Mont and B. rivularis Harv.), with ecorticate and polysiphonous axes throughout and cladophaptera; and B. tenella (Lamour.) J. Ag., with corticate indeterminate axes, monosiphonous ultimate branches, and peripherohaptera. Ballia prieurii Kütz. was found in Belize and Costa Rica and was characterized by rebranched determinate laterals, opposite branching, and long apical cells (X?= 61 μm) and axial cells (X?= 43 μm). Caloglossa leprieurii (Mont.) J. Ag. was localized in Puerto Rico while. C. ogasawaerensis Okam. was collected only in Costa Rica. The two species were separated by site of branching (midrib vs. margin) and blade width (X?= 384 vs. 861 μm). Polysiphonia subtilissima Mont. from Florida and Jamaica had four pericentral cells, no cortication, rhizoids arising from pericentral cells, and branches initiated at trichoblast scars.     

Ultrastructure and Description of a Fungus-Feeding Amoeba,Trichamoeba mycophaga n. sp. (Amoebidae,Amoebea), from Australia1

ABSTRACT. An amoeba isolated from a wheatfield and a forest soil in Australia has been identified as Trichamoeba mycophaga n. sp. Trophozoites of this amoeba are palmate to elongate and measure 45–136 μm in length and 25–94 μm in width. Amoebae in continuous locomotion may be limax with a villous-bulb uroid. Both the lobose pseudopodia and the advancing margin of a limax trophozoite bear an ectoplasmic crescent. The plasma membrane is coated with an electron-dense amorphous layer ca. 100 nm thick. Endoplasm is granular with elongate to bipyramidal crystals and contains bacterial endosymbionts. Trophozoites have a single, spherical to oval nucleus, 4–10 μm in diameter, which contains a centrally located, spherical to oval nucleolus, 2.8–5.0 μm in diameter. The nucleoplasm contains aggregations of filaments distributed radially within the nuclear membrane. Cysts are 21–60 μm in diameter, with ecto- and endocyst walls separated by an amorphous layer.     

Vegetative and reproductive morphology of Herpochondria corallinae (Martens) Falkenberg and H. elegans (Okamura) Itono (Ceramiaceae,Rhodophyta) from Korea

The vegetative and reproductive morphology of two epiphytic Herpochondria species, H. corallinae (Martens) Falkenberg (the type species) and H. elegans (Okamura) Itono from Korea were investigated. They are bilaterally compressed and alternate-distichously branched, and lateral branches are produced by oblique divisions of the apical cell. Procarps are restricted to the first periaxial cell of the branches. Spermatangial mother cells produce one or two spermatangia. H. corallinae forms tetrasporangia on six periaxial cells, whereas H. elegans has them on only the two lateral periaxial cells. The prostrate habit, the production of six periaxial cells in opposite pairs, and tetrasporangial stichidia are confirmed as diagnostic characters of the genus Herpochondria.     

Taxonomic notes on Laurencia brongniartii (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta)

The red alga Laurencia brongniartii J. Agardh (Rhodomelaceae, Ceramiales) is characterized by: (i) the production of four periaxial cells from each vegetative axial segment; (ii) the presence of two or three corps en cerise per superficial cortical cell and one per trichoblast cell; (iii) the production of a single tetrasporangium-bearing periaxial (fourth) cell per fertile segment; (iv) a tetrasporangial arrangement that is intermediate between perpendicular and parallel types; (v) procarps produced from the last-formed (fifth) periaxial cell of the terminal segment of a two-celled female trichoblast; and (vi) distally positioned spermatangial nuclei, in addition to known features. The production of a single tet-rasporangium-bearing periaxial cell per fertile segment allies this species to Laurencia similis Nam et Saito.     

Morphology of Chondrophycus undulata and C. parvipapillata and its implications for the taxonomy of the Laurencia (Ceramiales,Rhodophyta) complex

Laurencia Lamouroux subgenus Chondrophycus Tokida et Saito was recently raised to generic status as Chondrophycus (Tokida et Saito) Garbary et Harper (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta). The previously unknown morphology and anatomy of two Chondrophycus species, C. undulata (Yamada) Garbary et Harper and C. parvipapillata (C.K. Tseng) Garbary et Harper, were studied in specimens from Korea, Japan and Hawaii. These species share some features, such as a strongly compressed thallus, vegetative axes with two pericentral cells, tetrasporangial production from pericentral cells and spermatangial development of the trichoblast type. However, they differ from each other in the position of the first pericentral cell relative to the trichoblast in axial segments and in the position of the tetrasporangial pericentral cell. In C. undulata, the first pericentral cell is always produced at one side of the basal cell of a trichoblast, whereas in C. parvipapillata it is formed underneath this cell. While tetrasporangia in C. undulata are produced only from three (occasionally four) additional pericentral cells, in C. parvipapillata they are formed by the existing second pericentral cell and two (occasionally three) additional pericentral cells, so the resulting tetrasporangial axial segment has only one sterile pericentral cell rather than two as in C. undulata. C. undulata produces spermatangial branches from two laterals on the suprabasal cell of trichoblasts but one of the two remains partly sterile, whereas in C. parvipapillata a spermatangial branch develops from only one of the two laterals. These two species also differ distinctly from each other in some vegetative features, such as presence or absence of (1) secondary pit connections between epidermal cells, (2) a palisade structure of epidermal cells with conical projections and (3) corps en cerise. The taxonomic implications of these vegetative and reproductive features of Chondrophycus and those of other genera of the Laurencia complex necessitate changes to the generic delineations of Osmundea Stackhouse, Laurencia and Chondrophycus. The required new combinations in Chondrophycus are made, mainly for species from the western Pacific. An infrageneric classification scheme is also proposed for Chondrophycus including Kangjaewonia subgen. nov., Palisada (Yamada) subgen. stat. nov., Yuzurua subgen. nov. and Parvipapillatae sect. nov.     

The organization and fine structure of the muscles of the scolex of the cysticercoid of Hymenolepis microstoma

The organization and fine structure of the muscles of the scolex of the cysticercoid of Hymenolepis microstoma are described. The contractile apparatus consists of thick (175–325 Å diameter × 1.4 μm) and thin (60–80 Å diameter × 1 μm) filaments. The thick filaments are occasionally attached to the thin filaments by cross bridges. The thin filaments are attached to the dense bodies or to a dense zone at the sarcolemma at muscle insertions. In contracted muscle the thick filaments appear as quasi-hexagonal arrays or in lines. Each thick filament is surrounded by an orbit of up to 12 thin filaments, which in turn may be shared by adjacent thick filaments. Thin filaments may be present in quasi-rectangular or hexagonal groupings indicating some low order degree of actin lattice. The fusiform dense bodies (1,500 Å × 900 Å), consisting of up to 25 discrete substructures, are distributed uniformly throughout the myofiber and/or attached to the sarcolemma at attachment plaques. The sarcoplasmic reticulum, consisting of a presumed anastomosing network of tubules is structurally connected to the sarcolemma by periodic deposits of electron opaque material. Sarcoplasmic extensions of the myofiber(s) contain the nucleus, Golgi complexes, rough endoplasmic reticulum, ribosomes, β-glycogen, mitochondria and membrane bound electron dense structures. Upon activation of the metacestode, groups of α-glycogen and enlargement of the rough endoplasmic reticulum were observed. Microtubules which were conspicuously absent from the sarcoplasm of the unactivated worms appeared adjacent to the myofibers in activated worms.