The status of the name Alysium holtingii C. Agardh, a red alga described from Brazil, and a depiction of the type specimen

Abstract

The type specimen of the red alga Alysium holtingii C. Agardh, described from Brazil, is located in the Lund Herbarium, and it is depicted for the first time in a publication. It is taxonomically identical to Dichotomaria obtusata (J. Ellis and Solander) Lamarck and thus can be treated as a later taxonomic synonym. Alysium is regarded as congeneric with Dichotomaria.

Addendum to the synoptic review of red algal genera

“…Synonym: Alysium C. Agardh (1823). Note: Wynne (2008) demonstrated that the generitype of Alysium, A. holtingii C. Agardh from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a later taxonomic synonym of Dichotomaria obtusata (J. Ellis et Solander) Lamarck.…”