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Abstract Members of the genusChondrusare well-known from temperate and cold waters.Chondrus ocellatusHolmes was reported from Hawai‘i Island (19° N latitude) in 1999 as a new record based on vegetative and tetrasporangial characteristics. The first specimens were collected by Setchell in 1900 in Hilo, HI. The presence of aChondrusspecies in the subtropics has been a phycological enigma for over 100 years. We addressed the question of species identity and biogeographic affinities of the HawaiianChondruswith fresh cystocarpic material, DNA samples, and phylogenetic analyses. Analysis and comparison of five genes (nuclear: EF2; plastid:psbA,rbcL, and 23S/UPA; mitochondrial: COI) from HawaiianChondrusand holotype and topotype material of 10 of the 11 acceptedChondrusspecies indicate that Hawaiian specimens areC. retortusMatsumotoetShimada. However, unlike type material, the Hawaiian specimens are commonly pinnulate, vary significantly in secondary medullary filament density, and have mature cystocarps filling the entire medullary space. This study shows the value of using multi-gene loci and comparing multiple sequences of several species to confirm taxonomic conclusions. Our findings suggest thatC. retortusmay have immigrated via rafting on natural floating material or on ships’ hulls. Solving this old puzzle adds new insight into Hawaiian phytogeography. 

Phymatolithon  Foslie is one of the most studied and ecologically important genera of crustose coralline algae (CCA) due to their dominant abundance in various marine ecosystems worldwide. The taxonomy of the genus is complex and has been revised and updated many times based on morphological and molecular analyses. We report on a crustose coralline algal species collected in June 2011 via snorkeling in the subtidal zone along the beach Abu Qir on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, as part of a larger macroalgal diversity survey in the region. The species shows significant sequence divergences (3.5%–14.8% in rbc L; 2.9%–11% in psb A) from other closely related Phymatolithon taxa. Morpho-anatomically, this species possesses the characters considered collectively diagnostic of the genus Phymatolithon , namely, thalli non-geniculate epithelial cells and non-photosynthetic and domed-shaped meristematic cells, usually as short with progressive elongation of their perithallial derivatives. Based on molecular and morphological analyses, we determined that these specimens encompass a new, distinct species that we herein name Phymatolithon abuqirensis. Including this new species, the total number of described Phymatolithon species found in the Mediterranean Sea is now six. 

In the past, non-geniculate coralline algae in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico have been identified based primarily on comparative morpho-anatomy. Recent studies employing DNA sequencing techniques combined with morpho-anatomical studies using SEM have revealed a wealth of previously undocumented diversity of rhodolith-forming non-geniculate coralline algae in the Corallinales, Hapalidiales and Sporolithales from mesophotic hard bank communities at 45-90 meters depth. Although many advances in the last decade have been made in clarifying species names and describing new species of corallines from offshore Louisiana and Texas, total diversity estimates are still incomplete and many species remain to be described. Collections from offshore Louisiana at Parker Bank in the newly expanded Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary yielded thin, finely branched rhodoliths. DNA sequence analyses of plastid-encoded psb A and rbc L loci, and nuclear-encoded LSU rDNA of these rhodolith-forming specimens revealed that some belong to an unnamed species of Sporolithon (Sporolithales) that we herein newly describe. Additionally, comparative DNA sequence analyses of rhodolith collections from Ewing Bank and other hard banks offshore Louisiana were conducted to assess rhodolith diversity in these mesophotic communities. The results revealed new reports of taxa for the region, including new rhodolith-forming species of Roseolithon (Hapalidiales) to be described herein as well. Our new biodiversity findings will be compared with historical studies from the NW Gulf of Mexico. 

DNA sequence analysis of plastid-encoded psbA and UPA, mitochondrion-encoded COI, and nuclear-encoded LSU rDNA of rhodolith-forming crustose coralline algal specimens from the northwestern Gulf of Mexico reveals that Mesophyllum erubescens (Foslie) Me. Lemoine is present in mesophotic rhodolith beds offshore Louisiana and Texas at 39–57 m depth. Morpho-anatomical characters viewed with SEM support the identification of these specimens. Mesophyllum erubescens is reported for the first time offshore Louisiana at Ewing Bank, the Louisiana–Texas border at Bright Bank, and Texas in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. 

This study builds on recent treatments of the marine red algal family Gracilariaceae (Gracilariales) focusing in detail on Hydropuntia and Crassiphycus. Species in these two genera often present identification problems due to high levels of morphologial similarity among genetically distinct species, and high levels of phenotypic plasticity, leading to pseudocryptic speciation and homoplasies. In order to resolve long standing problems, clarify some species concepts and better understand the evolution of the group, we performed phylogenetic analyses of all plastid rbcL DNA sequences available for known Hydropuntia and Crassiphycus species, including newly sequenced specimens. Our results revealed the presence of potentially undescribed species, the existence of strong phylogeographic patterns below and above the species level and helped re-delineate morphologically similar taxa. New detailed morphological descriptions for three common yet poorly known Western Atlantic species are provided: C. secundus, C. usneoides and H. rangiferina. H. rangiferina from the Indo- Pacific is a distinct species from the true H. rangiferina and represents a putative undescribed species. We also provide a time-calibrated phylogeny for the six genera in the Gracilariales to identify past geological and climatic processes associated with their origin and diversification. 

Nongeniculate coralline algae are difficult to identify based solely on morpho‐anatomy. To address the systematics of several taxonomically challenging taxa, we analyzed DNA sequences of a short portion (118–296 base pairs) of the 3′ end of therbcL gene from three type specimens. The analyses revealed thatHarveylithon munitum(basionym:Lithophyllum munitum), described in 1906 from Cave Cays, Exuma Chain, Bahamas, is conspecific with bothGoniolithon accretumandGoniolithon affine, described in 1906 from Sand Key, Florida and in 1907 from Culebra Island, Puerto Rico, respectively.Lithophyllum munitumandG. accretumwere described in the same 1906 publication and have equal priority. We have selected the currently accepted and most commonly used nameH. munitumto apply to this entity. Comparative analyses ofrbcL,psbA, UPA, COI, and LSU sequences from contemporary field‐collected specimens revealed thatH. munitumcurrently inhabits mesophotic rhodolith beds in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the intertidal zone in the Florida Keys, Honduras, Atlantic Mexico, Caribbean Panama, and Guadeloupe, French West Indies. Species delimitation analyses reveal that the Western Atlantic and AustralianH. munitumpopulations may be separate species. Two new species ofHarveylithonfrom the northwestern Gulf of Mexico and one new species from the southwestern Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and the Red Sea were also identified in the analyses and are described.