Crassitegula walsinghamii (Sebdeniaceae, Halymeniales, Rhodophyta), a new red algal genus and species from Bermuda based upon morphology and SSU rDNA sequence analyses

C.W. SCHNEIDER, C.E. LANE and G.W. SAUNDERS (2006)

European Journal of Phycology 41: 115-124

Abstract

Dorsiventral, mat-forming plants superficially similar to Flahaultia tegetiformans (Gigartinales, Solieriaceae), a Caribbean species known only in the vegetative condition, were collected in several Bermuda habitats. Morphological analysis of these specimens distinguished them from F. tegetiformans. Reproductive morphology and analyses of sequences of the nuclear encoded small subunit rDNA show them clustering with Sebdenia (Halymeniales). The plants are described as Crassitegula walsinghamii gen. et sp. nov., a new nemathecial member of the Sebdeniaceae.

Key words: Bermuda, Crassitegula walsinghamii gen. et sp. nov., Flahaultia tegetiformans, Halymeniales, nemathecia, SSU rDNA, Sebdeniaceae.