A re-evaluation of the taxonomic status of Halophila euphlebia Makino (Hydrocharitaceae) based on morphological features and ITS sequence data
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Masayuki Uchimura
Abstract
Identification of Halophila ovalis samples from various parts of the world has long been accompanied by taxonomic uncertainties because of morphological variability. This led to the hypothesis that H. ovalis represents a “collective species” which may include cryptic species. Recent studies applying molecular techniques to the assessment of phylogenetic relationships in the genus Halophila also came to a similar conclusion. In this study, one Halophila species from Japan, previously described as H. euphlebia and later treated as a synonym of H. ovalis, was critically re-examined using molecular phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the nuclear ribosomal DNA. Morphological examinations of vegetative and reproductive structures were also undertaken. Results obtained from both morphological and molecular data, combined with a critical review of the relevant literature provide support for recognition of the plant in question as being distinct from H. ovalis. The entity conforms to Makino's description of H. euphlebia. This raises the current number of Halophila species in Japan to three: H. ovalis, H. decipiens and H. euphlebia.
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©2006 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin New York
Articles in the same Issue
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Articles in the same Issue
- Sulfur cycling and sulfide intrusion in mixed Southeast Asian tropical seagrass meadows
- Variability of Ruppia cirrhosa in two coastal lagoons with differing anthropogenic stresses
- A re-evaluation of the taxonomic status of Halophila euphlebia Makino (Hydrocharitaceae) based on morphological features and ITS sequence data
- Ganonema vermiculare sp. nov. (Liagoraceae, Rhodophyta), a new species from Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea
- Antithamnionella multiglandulosa sp. nov. (Rhodophyta, Ceramiaceae) from the Atlantic Iberian Peninsula
- Changes in the benthic algal flora of Linosa Island (Straits of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea)
- Seasonal and spatial dynamics of Noctiluca scintillans in a semi-enclosed bay in the northeastern part of Hong Kong
- Taxonomic appraisal of Melosira arctica Dickie and description of a new variety (Bacillariophyta)
- Changes in growth, chlorophyll fluorescence and fatty acid composition with culture age in batch cultures of Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Chaetoceros muelleri (Bacillariophyceae)
- Purification and some properties of a d-fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase from the red alga, Gracilaria chorda Holmes
- Biomass and docosahexaenoic acid formation by Schizochytrium mangrovei Sk-02 at low salt concentrations