Rhodolith-forming species of the subfamilies Neogoniolithoideae and Hydrolithoideae (Rhodophyta, Corallinales) from Espírito Santo State, Brazil

Abstract

The taxonomy of the rhodolith-forming species of non-geniculate coralline algae from the subfamilies Neogoniolithoideae and Hydrolithoideae (Rhodophyta, Corallinales) found from Espírito Santo State, Brazil, was evaluated based on extensive subtidal sampling. A comparative analysis of the Brazilian material to other recently described species lead us to conclude that one relatively well-known species, namely Hydrolithon rupestre, a conferatum species Neogoniolithon cf. brassica-florida and a probably new species of the genus Hydrolithon, are present in the area. All three species can be distinguished by their tetrasporangial or gametangial conceptacle anatomy. This study strengthens the hypothesis that Brazilian rhodolith beds are comparatively more diverse in numbers of rhodolith-forming species than other areas of the world.

Reef‐building coralline algae from the Southwest Atlantic: filling gaps with the recognition of Harveylithon (Corallinaceae, Rhodophyta) on the Brazilian coast

“…, Villas‐Bôas et al. ). Despite the fact that this group of algae belong to the main reef‐building coralligenous assemblages in shallow waters (Steneck ), there is a scarcity in efforts to identify them.…”

“…, Villas‐Bôas et al. , all as Hydrolithon rupestre ), H. samoënse (Tâmega and Figueiredo , as Hydrolithon samoënse ), and H. munitum (Woelkerling , as Hydrolithon munitum ). Several cryptic species have been found among the representatives of nongeniculate corallines in the Southwest Atlantic (Sissini et al.…”