| Comparative chloroplast-encoded rbcL and nuclear LSU rDNA sequence analyses, combined with morphological observations, reveal new records, many range extensions, and red algal species new to science for the Gulf of Mexico. This study demonstrates that the genus Caloglossa (Delesseriaceae) is more diverse in the Americas than was previously reported, comprising nine species, with four reported as new to science. The species complex misidentified as Caloglossa "leprieurii" in the Americas is composed of four distinct species, two of which are new to science and one of which is resurrected from synonymy. Caloglossa leprieurii is excluded from the Gulf. Evidence reveals that cell-to-cell communication in the form of symplasmic connectivity occurs in a species of Caloglossa, as demonstrated by the passage of the Lucifer yellow from the injected cell to neighboring cells in the injected region. The fluorochrome can be seen in the pit connections and through/around the pit plugs of the fluorescing cells as illustrated between cells, suggesting the transport of Lucifer yellow through the pit connections. The diversity of the genus Peyssonnelia (Peyssonneliaceae) is examined and increased from six to 21 species in the Gulf of Mexico. Six crustose "peyssonnelioid-like" species are recognized to be members of the Rhizophyllidaceae. The genera Cruoriella and Cruoriopsis, in part, are resurrected from synonymy with Peyssonnelia in the Peyssonneliaceae, and two genera, Polystrata and Metapeyssonnelia, are excluded from the family and transferred to the Rhizophyllidaceae. New combinations are proposed to accommodate known and new species in Cruoriella and in two formerly monotypic genera, Sonderopelta and, provisionally, Riquetophycus. The family Peyssonneliaceae is elevated to ordinal rank. |
