MOLECULAR SYSTEMATICS OF CERAMIUM AND CENTROCERAS (CERAMIACEAE,RHODOPHYTA) FROM BRAZIL1

Morphological investigations identified 11 Ceramium Roth species, of the 18 previously reported from Brazil. Phylogenetic analyses of sequences of the chloroplast‐encoded rbcL gene confirmed the presence of seven of these species. Three other species are reported from Brazil for the first time. Ceramium affine Setchell & Gardner and C. filicula Harvey ex Womersley were previously known only from the Pacific Ocean (Mexico and Australia, respectively). A new species, C. fujianum Barros‐Barreto et Maggs sp. nov., is described here. Its general habit is similar to that of C. strictum sensu Harvey from Europe but it has one less periaxial cell than C. strictum; its cortical filament arrangement is closest to C. deslongchampsii Chauvin ex Duby, also from Europe, but whorled tetrasporangia partially covered by cortical cells differ strikingly from the naked protruding tetrasporangia of C. deslongchampsii. Ceramium species in which each periaxial cell cuts off transversely only a single basipetal cell formed a robust clade. The genus Ceramium as represented in Brazil is not monophyletic with respect to Centroceras Kützing and Corallophila Weber‐van Bosse; Ceramium nitens, which has axial cells completely covered by rounded cortical cells formed by acropetal and basipetal filaments, did not group with any Ceramium clade but was weakly allied to a species of Corallophila. All three Brazilian Centroceras sequences were attributed to a single species, C. clavulatum.     

The species of Ceramium (Ceramiaceae,Rhodophyta) around Taiwan

A taxonomic study was recently carried out on the species of Ceramium occurring around Taiwan. One hundred and fifty-one collections were made from January 1993 through spring 1994 at 75 sites distributed around the island. A total of thirteen species were found, including three for which names cannot currently be assigned: Ceramium aduncum, C. ciliatum, C. cimbricum, C. cliftonianum, C. flaccidum, C. gracillimum var. byssoideum, C. mazatlanense, C. nakamurai, C. paniculatum, C. tenerrimum and unidentified species 1, 2 and 3. Among these are three new records for Taiwan, C. cimbricum, C. cliftonianum, and C. mazatlanense. This paper summarizes the taxonomic characters of these species and presents a key for their identification. Distribution records of all 42 species reported from the tropical western Pacific are compared. This report is the first detailed record of the genus for Taiwan.     

中国海产刚毛藻科(Cladophoraceae)八个新记录种

报道中国海产刚毛藻科(Cladophoraceae),沙生刚毛藻Cladophora arenaria,蝾螺刚毛藻C. conchopheria,暗色刚毛藻C. opaca,透明刚毛藻C. pellucida,微小刚毛藻C. pusilla,棉形刚毛藻C. rudolphiana,光毛刚毛藻C. sericea,美丽刚毛藻C. speciosa。     

GAYLIELLA GEN. NOV. IN THE TRIBE CERAMIEAE (CERAMIACEAE,RHODOPHYTA) BASED ON MOLECULAR AND MORPHOLOGICAL EVIDENCE1

On the basis of comparative morphology and phylogenetic analyses of rbcL and LSU rDNA sequence data, a new genus, Gayliella gen. nov., is proposed to accommodate the Ceramium flaccidum complex (C. flaccidum, C. byssoideum, C. gracillimum var. byssoideum, and C. taylorii), C. fimbriatum, and a previously undescribed species from Australia. C. transversale is reinstated and recognized as a distinct species. Through this study, G. flaccida (Kützing) comb. nov., G. transversalis (Collins et Hervey) comb. nov., G. fimbriata (Setchell et N. L. Gardner) comb. nov., G. taylorii comb. nov., G. mazoyerae sp. nov., and G. womersleyi sp. nov. are based on detailed comparative morphology. The species referred to as C. flaccidum and C. dawsonii from Brazil also belong to the new genus. Comparison of Gayliella with Ceramium shows that it differs from the latter by having an alternate branching pattern; three cortical initials per periaxial cell, of which the third is directed basipetally and divides horizontally; and unicellular rhizoids produced from periaxial cells. Our phylogenetic analyses of rbcL and LSU rDNA gene sequence data confirm that Gayliella gen. nov. represents a monophyletic clade distinct from most Ceramium species including the type species, C. virgatum. We also transfer C. recticorticum to the new genus Gayliella.     

DICROGLOSSUM CRISPATULUM GEN. ET COMB. NOV. FROM WESTERN AUSTRALIA,REPRESENTING A NEW TRIBE WITHIN THE DELESSERIACEAE (RHODOPHYTA)1

Dicroglossum gen. nov. (Delesseriaceae, Ceramiales) is a monotypic genus based on Delesseria crispatula, a species originally described by Harvey for plants collected from southwestern Western Australia. Distinctive features of the new genus include exogenous indeterminate branches; growth by means of a single transversely dividing, apical cell; absence of intercalary divisions in the primary, secondary, and tertiary cell rows; lateral pericentral cells not transversely divided; not all cells of the secondary cell rows producing tertiary cells rows; all tertiary initials reaching the thallus margin; midrib present but lateral nerves absent; determinate lateral bladelets arising endogenously; blades monostromatic, except, at the midrib; carpogonial branches restricted to primary cell rows, on both surfaces of unmodified blades; procarps produced on both blade surfaces, each procarp consisting of a supporting cell that bears two four-celled carpogonial branches and one sterile-cell group of three to four cells; and tetrasporangia borne in two layers, separated by a central row of sterile cells. The combination of exogenous indeterminate branching and bicarpogonial procarps is considered to warrant the recognition of a new tribe, the Dicroglosseae, within the subfamily Delesserioideae.     

THE TYPE SPECIES OF CERAMIUM (RHODOPHYTA), CERAMIUM VIRGATUM ROTH: TYPIFICATION AND PHYLOGENY

The type species of Ceramium is Ceramium virgatum Roth (1797, Cat. Bot I: 148, pl. VIII, fig. 1). This has been treated as a probable synonym of Ceramium nodulosum (Lightfoot) Ducluzeau, one of the species formerly confused under the illegitimate name Ceramium rubrum (Hudson) C. Agardh. However, in 1996 Silva showed that C. nodulosum (Lightfoot) Ducluzeau is a later homonym of C. nodulosum de Candolle 1805, and advocated conserving C. rubrum with a neotype. As an alternative to this, we investigated whether the name C. virgatum might be available for this species. The lectotype of C. virgatum is Roth's illustration of a much-branched, fully corticate, Ceramium specimen from Eckwarden, North Sea, which could represent any member of the ' C. rubrum' group. We obtained material resembling Roth's, from the North Sea island of Helgoland, as a potential epitype. Its rbc L sequence was aligned with sequences of all C. rubrum -like species in the British Isles, i.e. C. secundatum , C. botryocarpum , C. pallidum and ' C. nodulosum '. The Helgoland material was clearly conspecific with ' C. nodulosum ' from Ireland (0.08% divergence). We therefore suggest that the name C. virgatum Roth should be employed for this species. Phylogenetic analyses of these sequences aligned with various representatives of the tribe Ceramieae, placed the North Atlantic C. rubrum -like species in two well-supported clades. In one of these, C. virgatum is basal to C. secundatum and C. botryocarpum. The other clade consists of C. pallidum and a partly ecorticate species resembling C. diaphanum.     

Notes on marine algae from Hateruma island,Ryukyu

This paper deals with a small collection of marine algae which the author gathered at Hateruma island, one of the southernmost islands of the Ryukyu groups. Twelve species are reported; seven of which,Udotea glaucescens, Codium ovale, Halimeda micronesica, H. fragilis, Ectocarpus laurenciae, Centroceras apiculatum andCeramium sympodiale, are recorded here for the first time in Japan, one of which,Feldmannia formosana, is proposed as comb. nov., the other four,Chlorodesmis haterumana, Struvea haterumensis, Centroceras japonicum andLophocladia minima, are described here as new species.     

Phylogeny and biogeography of Crinum L. (Amaryllidaceae) inferred from nuclear and limited plastid non-coding DNA sequences

The genus Crinum L. is the only pantropical genus of the Amaryllidaceae. Phylogenetic and biogeographical analyses of nrDNA ITS and plastid trnL-F sequences for all continental groups of the genus Crinum and related African genera are presented, with the genus Amaryllis used as outgroup. ITS indicates that C. baumii is more closely related to Ammocharis and Cybistetes than to Crinum sensu stricto . Three clades are resolved in Crinum s.s. One unites a monophyletic American group with tropical and North African species. The second includes all southern African species and the Australian endemic C. flaccidum . The third includes monophyletic Madagascar, Australasian and Sino-Himalayan clades, with southern African species. The trnL-F phylogeny resolves an American and an Asian/Madagscar clade, and confirms the relationship of C. flaccidum with species endemic to southern Africa. The salverform, actinomorphic perianths of subg. Crinum appear to have evolved several times in the genus from ancestors with zygomorphic perianths (subg. Codonocrinum ), thus neither subgenus is monophyletic. Biogeographical analyses place the origin of Crinum in southern Africa, as the region is optimized at all ancestral nodes in the tree topology, and in basal interior nodes of all but one of the major clades. The genus underwent three major waves of radiation corresponding to the three main clades resolved in our trees. Two entries into Australia for the genus are indicated, as are separate Sino-Himalayan and Australasian dispersal events.  © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2003, 141 , 349–363.     

The morphology and ecology of Nemastoma and Predaea species (Nemastomataceae,Rhodophyta) from Ghana

Two members of the family Nemastomataceae (Gigartinales, Rhodophyta) are described from subtidal habitats in Ghana. Nemastoma confusum sp. nov. is a plant of irregularly lobed, thick gelatinous blades with subacute marginal projections and surface proliferations. It is composed of a lax medulla and submoniliform cortical filaments with prominent intercalary gland cells. Carposporophytes are one to three spherical lobes of carposporangia borne on gonimoblast initials arising directly from auxiliary cells contacted by connecting filaments. A rudimentary involucre is formed around the gonimoblast by elongating vegetative cortical cells borne on the auxiliary cell. The genus Predaea is recorded for the first time from Africa, and P. feldmannii Boerg. is described in morphological detail together with some observations on its ecology in Ghana. Distinctive features of connecting filament formation, nutritive cell production and gonimoblast initiation and development are illustrated and compared to other species of the genus. A second species, P. masonii (Setch. & Gardn.) De Toni fil., is represented by a single specimen in the collections and appears to be distinct from P. feldmannii on cortical and gland cell features.     

Ceramium gobii n. sp. (Rhodophyta, Ceramiales), a brackish-water red alga in the Baltic Sea

A geographical survey was made of the distribution of diaphanoid Ceramia in the Baltic Sea and adjacent waters west of the Baltic. It was found that Ceramium plants with so-called 'Gobi's' parasporangia (monosporangia) have a wide distribution in the Baltic Sea at salinities of ca (3) 5–8%. This brackish-water Ceramium is here described as a new species, Ceramium gobii. At higher salinities in the south of the Baltic Sea and on the Swedish west coast, round parasporangia (polysporangia) indicate the occurrence of other Ceramium species. The new species is very similar to the brackish-water species Ceramium radiculosum , which was described from river-mouths to the Gulf of Trieste (Italy). A comparison was made of several diaphanoid Ceramium species, C. diaphanum, C. tenuicorne, C. gobii , and C. radiculosum , including (1) size of male plants, (2) type of paraspores, (3) vegetative characters.     

CENTROCERAS INTERNITENS N. SP. (RHODOPHYCEAE,CERAMIACEAE) FROM THE WESTERN TROPICAL NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN1

Centroceras internitens n. sp. (Rhodophyceae, Ceramiaceae) was found in the Florida Keys and Bermuda only as an epiphyte on Ceramium nitens (C. Agardh) J. Agardh. It is described on the basis of many collections, including an abundance of reproductive material representing all stages of the life history. Laboratory culture has not been successful. The type locality is a well-known limestone platform on the Atlantic Ocean side of West Summerland Key, Florida Keys. In addition to living material, C. internitens was found on eight herbarium specimens of Ceramium nitens at the United States National Museum, thereby establishing records of its occurrence throughout the Caribbean Sea and dating back to 1887.     

绿球藻目的几个中国新记录属种

6个生境比较特殊而有趣的绿球藻目物种首次在我国发现,它们分别是生于土壤的香喇网绿藻(Dictyochloris fragrans Vischer ex Start),寄生于眼子菜叶片的浮萍绿点藻(Chlorchytrium lemmae Cohn.),气生种类—生长在樟树皮上的分层胶囊藻(Gloeocystis polydermatica(Kutz.) Hindak),与真菌共生形成地衣的土著共球藻(Trebouxia aboricola de Puymaly)和团集共球藻(Trebouscia glomerata(Waren) Ahmadjian),还有附生于一种刚毛藻(Cladophora sp.)细胞表面的伊乐外生藻(Ectogeron elodeae Dangeard)。除胶囊藻属(Gloeocystis)外,其它属均为中国新记录属。     

Cyanoneuron (Rubiaceae), a new genus from Borneo and Sulawesi

The genus Cyanoneuron is established to accommodate three Bornean and Sulawesi species previously placed in Myrioneuron . Two new species: C. grandiflorum and C. pedunculatum are described. All five species are illustrated. A survey of the character states including vegetative, inflorescence, floral, fruit, pollen, seed morphology and anatomy is given. The chromosome number has been counted for C. cyaneum, C. grandiflorum and C. pubescens. Cyanoneuron is tentatively included in the tribe Hedyotideae, but its affinity to genera inside this tribe is unknown.     

Molecular evidence for the polyphyly of the genus Hemitragus (Mammalia, Bovidae)

The genus Hemitragus includes three species of tahr distributed in distant geographical areas: the Himalayan tahr, H. jemlahicus, occupies the southern flanks of the Himalaya Mountains; the Nilgiri tahr, H. hylocrius, is endemic to southern India; and the Arabian tahr, H. jayakari, is unique to the mountains of south-east Arabia. All previous investigations were based on morphology, and these three species together have never been included in a molecular phylogenetic study. In this study, we constructed a molecular phylogeny of the tribe Caprini sensu lato to determine the taxonomic status of the three species of tahr. Phylogenetic analyses were carried out on a matrix including most extant species currently described in the tribe Caprini sensu lato, and 3165 nucleotide characters, coming from four different markers, i.e., an intron of the nuclear gene coding for the protein kinase C iota, and three mitochondrial genes (subunit II of the cytochrome c oxidase, cytochrome b, and 12S rRNA). The results show that the genus Hemitragus is polyphyletic, as H. jemlahicus is associated with Capra (goats), H. hylocrius is the sister-group of Ovis (sheep), and H. jayakari is allied with Ammotragus lervia (aoudad). In the light of these unexpected results, we revaluate the validity of the morphological characters originally used for defining the genus Hemitragus. At least, we propose a new taxonomy, where the three species of tahr are ranged into three monospecific genera: the genus Hemitragus is restricted to the Himalayan tahr, and two new genera are created: Arabitragus for the Arabian tahr and Nilgiritragus for the Nilgiri tahr.     

Phylogenetic position of the genus Dobinea: Evidence from nucleotide sequences of the chloroplast gene rbcL and the nuclear ribosomal ITS region

Dobinea Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don, a genus with two species endemic to east Asia, has been placed in three different families, the Podoaceae, tribe Acerineae of the Sapindaceae, and tribe Dobineeae of the Anacardiaceae. In this paper, phylogenetic relationships of the genus were examined based on DNA sequences of the chloroplast rbcL gene and the ITS region of nuclear ribosomal DNA. Our data support the monophyly of Dobinea and its placement in the Anacardiaceae.     

Observations on the vascular anatomy of the tribe Vicieae (Leguminosae)

The tribe Vicieae (Adanson) DC. ex Ser. is characterized by an unusual type of stele in which the lateral leaf-traces are present as cortical bundles in the internode below the insertion of their leaf. In most members of the tribe a completely fresh pair of cortical bundles is substituted at each node, but in ten species of Vicia L. there is only partial replacement. The group thus delimited also possesses some distinctive non-anatomical features.
The behaviour of the three leaf-traces at the node also varies throughout the tribe. This variation is shown to be correlated with differences in the shape of the stipules and their size in relation to the rest of the leaf.     

TAXONOMY OF THE NEW ZEALAND-ENDEMIC GENUS PLEUROSTICHIDIUM (RHODOMELACEAE, RHODOPHYTA)

A morphological, anatomical, and molecular study of the tribe Pleurostichidieae (Rhodomelaceae, Ceramiales) is presented. New collections of its only member, Pleurostichidium falkenbergii Heydrich, have enabled a thorough re-assessment of this species from a classical-morphological standpoint and have allowed the first photographs to be made of critical features of this little-known obligate epiphyte of the brown alga Xiphophora chondrophylla (Turner) Montagne ex Harvey. The relationship of the tribe to other members of the Rhodomelaceae is considered based on analysis of 18S rDNA sequences from P. falkenbergii , 14 other rhodomelaceous species, and six outgroup taxa. Pleurostichidium falkenbergii is shown to be most closely related to the tribe Polysiphonieae and only distantly related to the Amansieae, with which it was previously associated.     

COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF CHAROPHYTA: II. THE AXIAL NODAL COMPLEX—AN APPROACH TO THE TAXONOMY OF LAMPROTHAMNIUM12

The present investigation on the axial nodes of 32 taxa belonging to the genera Chara, Lamprothamnium, Nitellopsis, Nitella and Tolypella confirms previous reports that within a given taxonomic group the structure of the main axial nodal complex is highly consistent. Besides the genera Nitella and Tolypella of the tribe Nitelleae, Lamprothamnium of the tribe Chareae is the only genus in which the central cells of the main axial nodal complex subdivide. This anatomical feature of the main axial nodal complex thus clearly separates the genus Lamprothamnium from the other genera of the tribe chareae. In 2 controversial species of the genus Chara, C. hornemannii and C. buckellii, the present study reveals that the central cells of their main axial nodal complexes do not subdivide. The transfer of these two species to the genus Lamprothamnium by Daily (1) may not be appropriate.