| Abstract |
SUMMARY
The brown algal order Asterocladales, which contains the single genus
Asterocladon
and is the sister order of the Ectocarpales, has stellate chloroplasts. We investigated newly established isolates of
Asterocladon
from southern/subtropical Japan to reveal their taxonomic positions based on morphological and molecular analyses using
rbc
L and
psa
A genes. An isolate of
Asteronema breviarticulatum
, which was so far classified in the Scytothamnales, was revealed to belong to
Asterocladon
, and thus
Asterocladon breviarticulatum
comb. nov. is proposed. Two other isolates of
Asterocladon
are described here as new species,
Asterocladon iriomotense
sp. nov. and
Asterocladon discoideum
sp. nov.
Asterocladon iriomotense
was characterized by small filamentous thalli having oligostichous parts, phaeophycean hairs, and globular masses on which plurilocular sporangia are formed.
Asterocladon discoideum
was characterized by small discoid thalli with phaeophycean hairs and globular or semiglobular masses, cells of which were differentiated into plurilocular sporangia.
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