| Abstract: | A red alga with a cylindrical stipe bearing a single deciduous blade was collected in deep water off the east coast of Florida. It is described as Maripelta atlantica sp. nov., differing from M. rotata (Dawson) Dawson (the type of the genus, from deep water off California and Baja California) chiefly by having an annular tetrasporangial nemathecium on the lower surface of the blade rather than scattered nemathecia on the upper surface. Both species are vegetatively and reproductively distinct from M. thivyae Dawson, which is transferred to Halichrysis. New information is given regarding the reproduction and distribution of M. rotata. |
