Abstract
Two new species of Ramicrusta (Peyssonneliaceae, Rhodophyta), Ramicrusta bonairensis from Bonaire, The Netherlands Antilles and Puerto Rico and Ramicrusta monensis from Puerto Rico are described on the basis of both morphological and genetic criteria. Both grow closely appressed to their substrata, a characteristic that differs from their Caribbean congener, Ramicrusta textilis, which forms flared or broadly fluted, expanded erect tissue, and is not closely appressed throughout. The new species also share with each other, the character, seen in microscopic sections, of appearing layered due to an abrupt decrease in cell size that occurs in the perithallus. Ramicrusta bonairensis is thicker than R. monensis, forming crusts up to 840 μm thick and carposporangia that measure up to 80 μm in length. Ramicrusta monensis is less thick, 585–650 μm, and produces smaller carposporangia, 40–50 μm in length. Overgrowing thalli in R. monensis are commonly observed, frequently resulting in gaps visible in transverse microscopic sections. Irregular perithallial growth may also result in hollow regions. Male gametophytes are reported for the first time in R. textilis and in R. monensis. Mixed reproductive phases in individual thalli, with both male gametophytic structures and tetrasporangial nemathecia, are also observed in R. monensis.
About the authors
David L. Ballantine is presently a research associate in the Department of Botany, U.S. National Herbarium, Smithsonian Institution. He spent over 30 years at the Department of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico where his research dealt primarily with systematics and ecology of Caribbean marine algae.
Hector Ruiz earned his doctorate degree in Marine Biology from the University of Puerto Rico (Mayaguez Campus) with an emphasis on ecology and taxonomy of algae. Dr. Ruiz is the Executive Director of HJR Reefscaping. HJR Reefscaping, in collaboration with local and federal agencies, has completed various environmental restoration projects in mangrove keys, coral reefs and seagrass habitats.
Chad Lozada-Troche works at the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey, where he teaches genetics, mycology and botany. His research focus has been centred on macroalgal molecular systematics, particularly Rhodymeniales species from Puerto Rico.
James N. Norris is currently a research scientist and curator emeritus in the Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. He has spent over 40 years at the museum and US National Herbarium, focusing his research on systematics and ecology of marine algae of Gulf of California, Pacific Mexico and Panama and the tropical and subtropical western Atlantic.
Acknowledgements
We thank Ms. Caren E. Eckrich, CIEE (Council of International Education Exchange) Research Station, Bonaire, Caribbean Leeward Islands, The Netherlands, who alerted us to the Curaçao Ramicrusta and provided specimens for molecular and morphological analyses. Dr. Godfried van Moorsel (Ecosub, The Netherlands) provided the in situ photographs of Ramicrusta bonairensis. This contribution was supported in part by the NOAA Caribbean Coral Reef Institute (CCRI), University of Puerto Rico. JN also thank for the partial support from NSF grant SI-DSG#642079.
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