Three new macroalgae from the Three Kings Islands New Zealand including the first southern Pacific Ocean record of the Furcellariaceae (Rhodophyta)

• Published in: Phycologia (Oxford) Vol. 53; no. 6; pp. 602 - 613
• Main Authors: Nelson, W.A., D'Archino, R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis 01-12-2014; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Algae; Archipelagoes; Bangiaceae; Biodiversity; Endemic macroalgae; Flora; Furcellariaceae; Gigartina; Gigartina ewenii sp. nov; Gigartinaceae; Gigartinales; Islands; Museums; Perplexiramosus clintonii gen. et sp. nov; Phylogenetics; Pyropia francisii sp. nov; Rhodophyta; Sargassum; New Zealand; North Island; IS, South Pacific; PSE, New Zealand; PSE, New Zealand, North I; IS, Pacific; New Zealand, North I
• ISSN: 0031-8884; 2330-2968
• DOI: 10.2216/14-60R1.1

The Three Kings Islands are an uninhabited archipelago 57 km north of the North Island of New Zealand. Three new species of red algae were described from the Three Kings Islands: Perplexiramosus clintonii gen. et sp. nov., the first record of a member of the Furcellariaceae (Gigartinales) in the South Pacific Ocean, found growing exclusively on Sargassum johnsonii, and two species found on the steep, wave-exposed intertidal shores. Pyropia francisii sp. nov. (Bangiaceae) had a rosette growth form and a very distinctive arrangement of the reproductive regions on the blade. Gigartina ewenii sp. nov. (Gigartinaceae) grew in clumps and had channelled thalli that fork near the apex, with cystocarps and tetrasporangial sori on upper dichotomies. These algae have not been collected in any other areas and are believed to be endemic. This study adds to our knowledge of the seaweed flora of New Zealand and to our understanding of diversity on this special island group.