The taxonomic distinctiveness and cosmopolitan distributions of the red algae Gelidium crinale and G. pusillum remain unclear. Both species were first described in Devon in southwestern England; namely in Ilfracome for G. crinale and Sidmouth for G. pusillum. We analyzed mitochondrial cox1 and plastid rbcL sequences from specimens collected in East Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. In all phylogenetic analyses of cox1 and rbcL sequences, G. crinale was distinct from congeners of the genus. The analyses also revealed a sister relationship with the G. coulteri and G. capense clade. Nineteen cox1 haplotypes were identified for G. crinale, and they were likely geographically structured. Despite the distinctiveness in both cox1 and rbcL datasets, the sister relationship of G. pusillum in the genus was not resolved. Our cox1 and rbcL datasets indicate that G. crinale is a cosmopolitan species, found in East Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, while the distribution of G. pusillum is restricted to Europe and Atlantic North America. Our results suggest that infraspecific classification of G. pusillum may be abandoned.Key Words: cox1; distribution; Gelidium crinale; Gelidium pusillum; phylogeny; rbcL INTRODUCTIONGelidium Lamour. is composed of approximately 127 described species distributed globally along tropical, subtropical, and artic shorelines (Freshwater and Rueness 1994, Shimada et al. 2000, Millar and Freshwater 2005, Kim et al. 2011, in press, Guiry and Guiry 2012. Members of the genus can be the most abundant organisms within intertidal algal assemblages. Gelidium is economically important as food, and one of the most promising agar sources in rhodophytes. It has recently been used for industrial paper pulp production in Korea (Seo et al. 2010). However, identification of individual Gelidium specimens is notoriously difficult because of the high degree of morphological variation, particularly in the smaller and medium-sized species (Dixon and Irvine 1977a).Gelidium crinale (Hare ex Turner) Gallion and G. pusillum (Stackhouse) Le Jolis, which are small and morphologically diverse, are among the most difficult species to identify in red algae, and their distributions are unclear. These species are traditionally recognized as two distinct species (Feldmann and Hamel 1936, Silva et al. 1996), and Womersley and Guiry (1994 found a difference between the types of G. crinale and G. pusillum. On the contrary, G. crinale and G. pusillum were merged by Irvine (1977a, 1977b). Seven to nine varieties or formas have been described in each of G. crinale and G. pusillum (Silva et al. 1996, Guiry andGuiry 2012). The name G. pusillum is commonly used for any small tuft-forming Gelidium (Silva et al. 1996). Although G. crinale and G. pusillum are considered as the most widely distributed species in the genus AlgaeBase (Guiry and Guiry 2012), the occurrence -42-822-9690 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommo...

Here we report the first finding of Cryptonemia rotunda and Schizymenia apoda in Korea based on plastid rbcL sequence analysis and morphological observations. C. rotunda occurred in the subtidal in Hongdo and Namyeodo on the south coast. Thalli have short stipe with foliose, membranous blades with dentate margin, a length of 2-8 cm. S. apoda occurred in many locations along the coast of Korea. Thalli are foliose, simple or broadly lanceolate blades with irregular lobes and proliferations from the margins, sometimes undulate, soft fleshy, and slippery, up to 32 cm tall, and have cystocarps with ostioles on the blade. Plastid rbcL sequences reveal that each of these species is clearly separated from other species of their respective genera. S. apoda was well resolved within the genus. However, C. rotunda was distantly related to other members of the genus, and this result needs an urgent revision of the genus.