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Australian Systematic Botany Australian Systematic Botany Society
Taxonomy, biogeography and evolution of plants
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

A morphological and molecular study supports the recognition of Rhipilia psammophila sp. nov. and Rhipilia baculifera comb. nov. (Halimedaceae, Chlorophyta) from southern Australia

John M. Huisman https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5255-8423 A * and Heroen Verbruggen https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6305-4749 B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Western Australian Herbarium, Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Locked Bag 104, Bentley Delivery Centre, WA 6983, Australia.

B School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Vic. 3010, Australia.

* Correspondence to: john.huisman@dbca.wa.gov.au

Handling Editor: David Williams

Australian Systematic Botany 36(6) 427-436 https://doi.org/10.1071/SB23016
Submitted: 31 May 2023  Accepted: 10 October 2023   Published: 31 October 2023

© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Ongoing taxonomic studies of Australian marine algae have led to the recognition of a new species of the green algal genus Rhipilia, here named R. psammophila Huisman & Verbruggen. The new species is unusual for this typically tropical genus in growing in the colder temperate waters of southern Australia and can be distinguished from its congeners by the morphology of its laterally adhering siphons, in addition to unique molecular sequences (rbcL and tufA). In molecular analysis, the new species is sister to the southern Australian Chlorodesmis baculifera, which is here transferred to Rhipilia and represents the third species in the genus with laterally unattached, free siphons, a feature that previously would have excluded it from the genus. Lateral gametangia are described for R. psammophila and represent the first record of reproduction in Rhipilia.

Keywords: algae, Bryopsidales, Chlorodesmis, marine, rbcL, seaweed, taxonomy, tufA.

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