A barcode analysis of the genusLobophora(Dictyotales, Phaeophyceae) in the western Atlantic Ocean with four novel species and the epitypification ofL. variegata(J.V. Lamouroux) E.C. Oliveira

Abstract

In the western Atlantic Ocean, the brown algal genus Lobophora is currently represented by a single species, L. variegata, with a type locality designated by Lamouroux as 'Antilles'. In this study, we used molecular-assisted alpha taxonomy (MAAT) to assess species diversity of Lobophora in Bermuda, the Florida Keys, St. Croix and Guadeloupe (Lesser Antilles). Using cox1 and cox3 sequences as barcode markers, five species of Lobophora, four of them novel, were delineated, all previously having been identified in the area as L. variegata. Our morphological and habitat studies, made possible by abundant sampling, have revealed unique characters for each of these western Atlantic species, including distinct cellular arrangements, as well as different depth ranges for certain species. Observations made from Lamouroux's holotype of Dictyota variegata (= Lobophora variegata) allowed us to assess the anatomy of this species, which enabled us to easily align this early taxon to one of our genetic species from the western Atlantic. As the type was unavailable for genetic analysis, we selected a recent St. Croix (Virgin Is., Antilles) specimen as the epitype to support it with molecular sequence data.

The Mesophotic, Coral Reef-Associated, Marine Algal Flora of Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea

“…Collections at MSM also reveal that L. guadeloupensis is found in Martinique (DLB3546) at 50 m and the Bahamas (DLB4341 and DLB4518) at 33-35 and 46-53 m, respectively. The greatest known depth for the species is reported to be 135 m from Guadeloupe (Schultz et al, 2015). Once herbarium records attributable to L. variegata in deep water are reexamined, the broader occurrence of both L. guadeloupensis and L. payriae will undoubtedly be confirmed, and the depth records reported here will be exceeded.…”

Conspectus of the Benthic Marine Algae of the Gulf of California: Rhodophyta, Phaeophyceae, and Chlorophyta

“…Recent molecular systematic studies of specimens assumed to be a broadly defined "Lobophora variegata" (Sun et al, 2012;Vieira et al, 2014Vieira et al, , 2016Schultz et al, 2015) have revealed numerous new species that were previously misidentified or unrecognized. The species L. variegata is likely restricted to the Caribbean Sea (Schultz et al, 2015;Vieira et al, 2016).…”

“…The species L. variegata is likely restricted to the Caribbean Sea (Schultz et al, 2015;Vieira et al, 2016). Vieira et al (2016Vieira et al ( , 2017) estimated there are more than 100 species of Lobophora, of which only 21−30 species are currently recognized.…”

New record of Lobophora rosacea (Dictyotales; Phaeophyceae) from the South China Sea

“…However, L . variegata has been confi rmed to be an endemic species from the West Indies (Schultz et al, 2015), and we suspect that L . lubaoreniana corresponds to L .…”

“…It is diffi cult to identify species based on morphological criteria alone. Recent genetic analysis of Lobophora has suggested that the species level divergence was considerably underestimated, and a dozen new species were described (Sun et al, 2012;Vieira et al, 2014;Schultz et al, 2015). At present, approximately 20 Lobophora species are listed in AlgaeBase (Guiry and Guiry, 2015).…”