Type specimen sequencing, multilocus analyses, and species delimitation methods recognize the cosmopolitan Corallina berteroi and establish the northern Japanese C. yendoi sp. nov. (Corallinaceae, Rhodophyta)

Abstract

A partial rbcL sequence of the lectotype specimen of Corallina berteroi shows that it is the earliest available name for C. ferreyrae. Multilocus species delimitation analyses (ABGD, SPN, GMYC, bPTP, and BPP) using independent or concatenated COI, psbA, and rbcL sequences recognized one, two, or three species in this complex, but only with weak support for each species hypothesis. Conservatively, we recognize a single worldwide species in this complex of what appears to be multiple, evolving populations. Included in this species, besides C. ferreyrae, are C. caespitosa, the morphologically distinct C. melobesioides, and, based on a partial rbcL sequence of the holotype specimen, C. pinnatifolia. Corallina berteroi, not C. officinalis, is the cosmopolitan temperate species found thus far in the NE Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea, warm temperate NW Atlantic and NE Pacific, cold temperate SW Atlantic (Falkland Islands), cold and warm temperate SE Pacific, NW Pacific and southern Australia. Also proposed is C. yendoi sp. nov. from Hokkaido, Japan, which was recognized as distinct by 10 of the 13 species discrimination analyses, including the multilocus BPP.

Ancient Tethyan Vicariance and Long-Distance Dispersal Drive Global Diversification and Cryptic Speciation in the Red Seaweed Pterocladiella

“…Haplotype networks confirmed long-distance dispersal within the cosmopolitan species (occurring in three realms), P. bartlettii , P. caerulescens , and P. capillacea ( Figure 4 ). This result contrasts with recent studies that have shown that many allegedly widespread red algal species are actually multiple cryptic species with narrow ranges ( Won et al, 2009 ; Díaz-Tapia et al, 2018 ; Gabrielson et al, 2018 ; Leliaert et al, 2018 ; but see Calderon et al, 2021 ). For P. bartlettii , there was a close relationship between individuals from Vietnam and Brazil (~17,000 km apart), indicating recent long-distance dispersal or introductions, though we cannot discern the source vs. sink.…”

Resolving some of the earliest names for Corallina species (Corallinales, Rhodophyta) in the North Pacific by sequencing type specimens and describing the cryptic C. hakodatensis sp. nov. and C. parva sp. nov.

“…4). However, based on length alone, specimens from the eastern Pacific could also be C. berteroi (Calderon et al 2021) or C. chilensis (Huber 2020), both with ranges overlapping that of C. vancouveriensis.…”

“…2015, Huber 2020, Calderon et al. 2021) and remains very useful for species delineation across crustose and geniculate coralline lineages.…”

“…2021, Calderon et al. 2021). Revisions have also occurred in the NE and NW Pacific, where four formerly recognized genera, Pachyarthron , Serraticardia , Marginisporum , and Yamadaia were placed in synonymy under Corallina by Hind et al.…”

“…As with many other coralline taxa, Corallina taxonomy and systematics are confounded by a lack of informative morphological characters (Robba et al 2006, Hind et al 2014). There has been recent interest in clarifying species boundaries and the systematics of this genus using molecular phylogenetic techniques anchored with sequences from type specimens (Hind et al 2014, Bustamante et al 2019, Huber 2020, Calderon et al 2021.…”