Morphology and phylogeny of Ramirezia osornoensis gen. & sp. nov. and Phyllymenia acletoi sp. nov. (Halymeniales, Rhodophyta) from South America

Abstract:

We conducted phylogenetic analyses of plastid rbcL sequences and detailed observations on female reproductive structures of foliose halymeniacean red algae collected in Chile and Peru. We describe Ramirezia osornoensis gen. et. sp. nov., characterised by having seven-celled carpogonial branches and six-celled auxiliary-cell branches, formation of primary connecting filaments after fertilisation, nutritive filaments mostly upwardly directed and well-developed pericarps. It was distributed from central Chile to the Falkland Islands. The female structures of Halymenia lapathifolia Kützing and its placement in the rbcL tree indicated that it belonged to a new genus, which we named Ramirezia. In the rbcL phylogeny, Ramirezia consistently formed a clade with Chilean/Peruvian species. We described Phyllymenia acletoi sp. nov. on the basis of specimens from Peru. Phyllymenia acletoi had a distinctive rbcL phylogeny and Phyllymenia-type female structures. It was characterised by thalli divided into several lobes, a loose cortex of five to seven layers of cells with stellate inner cortical cells, a gradual transition from cortex to lax medulla and pericarps with few involucral filaments.

Key Words::

• Chile
• Halymeniaceae
• Grateloupia
• Peru
• Ramirezia lapathifolia
• rbcL
• Red algae
• Systematics

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Ellen Bloch and Kenneth G. Karol from New York Botanical Garden for providing the loan of type material of G. cutleriae f. procera; Nicolien Sol from Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, for providing the image of the G. cutleriae type specimen; Andres Mansilla for his collaboration in collection and diagnosis; Kathy Ann Miller for information on type material of both species and improving our revision as well as the first manuscript; and Maria Eliana Ramirez and Cesar Acleto for reading the manuscript, Mariana Cabral Oliveira and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and Marina Morabito for her valuable comments on the new genus. This work was supported by a Korean Research Foundation Grant (2012-0704) and Marine Biotechnology grants from the Korean government's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to S.M.B.

SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

Supplementary data associated with this article can be found online at http://dx.doi.org/10.2216/13–158.1.s1.