• ALGAE
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.71-76
• /
• 2010

Centroceras gasparrinii is characterized by 1) straight spines, 2) an ovoid gland cell, 3) tetrasporangia with involucral branchlets, and 4) ovoid cortical cells on the first and second cortical initials. A similar Centroceras species with dichotomous habit, "Centroceras clavulatum", has been widely known as a common species of Korean marine flora. However, the species known as "C. clavulatum" in Korea is recognized as C. gasparrinii based on the molecular and morphological evidence. Newly generated sequences of rbcL gene reveal that all taxa of Centroceras from Korea having dichotomous branching pattern are C. gasparrinii. There is 0-0.07% sequence divergence among specimens of C. gasparrinii in Korea. "Centroceras clavulatum" is excluded from Korean flora and C. gasparrinii is included instead of "Centroceras clavulatum". C. gasparrinii also differs from C. distichum in Korea in that it has tetrasporangia with involucral branchlets and dichotomous branching pattern, while C. distichum has immersed tetrasporangia and an alternate branching pattern.

• ALGAE
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.243-267
• /
• 2018

A taxonomic study was recently carried out on species of the tribe Ceramieae (Ceramiaceae, Rhodophyta), following an evaluation of previously published records and on the basis of field and laboratory investigations. In Morocco, the tribe is represented by 5 genera: Ceramium (21 taxa at specific and infraspecific levels), Gayliella (3 species), and by one species each of Centroceras, Corallophila and Microcladia. Among these, there are five new records for Morocco: Centroceras gasparrinii, Ceramium botryocarpum, Ceramium cingulatum, Ceramium echionotum var. mediterraneum, and Gayliella taylorii. The report of C. echionotum var. mediterraneum from the Atlantic coast of Morocco is one of the rare records from outside the Mediterranean. Ceramium ciliatum var. robustum and Ceramium codii are recorded for the first time from the Atlantic coast of Morocco. Centroceras clavulatum is excluded from Moroccan flora having been misidentified for C. gasparrinii. This paper summarizes the taxonomic characters of these species with images and presents a key for their identification. This report is the first detailed record of the species of the tribe Ceramieae for Morocco. As a result, the total number of taxa at both specific and infraspecific levels accepted in the tribe Ceramieae for Morocco, under current taxonomy and nomenclature, is 27.

• ALGAE
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.15-33
• /
• 2015

When the generitype Centroceras clavulatum, a presumed cosmopolitan warm temperate to tropical red alga, was discovered to have a biogeographic distribution limited to the Pacific Ocean using molecular and morphological evidence, the taxonomy in the genus Centroceras was thrown into chaos worldwide. An analysis of what species was, or were, previously identified as C. clavulatum in Bermuda is the focus of the present molecular (COI-5P, rbcL) and morphological study. Two novel species are proposed, C. arcii sp. nov. and C. illaqueans sp. nov., and the distributions of three taxa recently segregated in the 'C. clavulatum complex' of the western Atlantic, C. gasparrinii, C. hyalacanthum, and C. micracanthum, have been expanded to include Bermuda. C. arcii is shown to be morphologically cryptic with C. micracanthum, and remains best distinguished by its COI-5P barcode sequence.