Lindauera papenfussii (Lindauer) W.A. Nelson & J.E.Sutherl.

Nelson, Wendy A. & Sutherland, Judy E., 2023, Hidden in plain sight: Lindauera gen. nov.: a new genus of Dictyotales from New Zealand, Australian Systematic Botany 36 (2), pp. 157-166 : 163-165

Lindauera papenfussii (Lindauer) W.A. Nelson & J.E.Sutherl. , comb. nov.

( Fig. 1 .)

Dictyota papenfussii Lindauer , Trans. & Proc. Roy. Soc. New Zealand 77: 390, p. 38: fig. 1–3; p. 39: fig. 17 (1949).

Type: New Zealand, North Island, South Taranaki, Pihama , Campbell’s beach , 25 Feb. 1944, V.W.Lindauer 4110 (holo: AK ( AK295737 ); iso: distributed as specimen number 187, in Fascicle VIII, of the Algae Nova-Zelandicae Exsiccatae ( Nelson and Phillips 1996) e.g. WELT A000987 , A020630 ) .

Fronds, erect, flat, 2–4 mm wide, (3)7–15(20) cm in height; lower axes mid- to dark brown, upper axes golden brown. Axes frequently spirally twisted, narrowing upwards, with subdichotomous-pinnately decompound alternate branches. Apices vary in shape from pointed ( Fig. 5 a ) to rounded ( Fig. 5 b ). Basal axes stupose. Attached to solid substrates by primary, prostrate dichotomously branched axes, up to 2 cm long ( Fig. 6 a, b ), arising directly from the lower main axis. Thalli with 3 cell layers – a single medullary layer of large rectangular cells, and a unilayered cortex of small cuboidal cells on each surface. Sporangia, large, solitary, scattered on upper part of thallus on both surfaces, with single sporangial stalk cell. Oogonia and antheridia infrequently seen.

Illustrations

N. M. Adams, Seaweeds of New Zealand 105 (1994); W. A. Nelson, New Zealand Seaweeds 61 (2020).

Specimens examined

NEW ZEALAND: Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands : Princes Islands, Rosemary Island, Cattons Cave, 13 Apr. 2013, R. D’Archino, AK384069. North Island: Bay of Islands , Deep Water Cove , 30 Nov. 2009, R. D’Archino , WELT A030593 ; Bay of Islands Te Miko Reef , 10 Feb. 2010, S.Miller & R. D’Archino , WELT A032190 ; Bay of Islands , Te Miko Reef, 11 Feb. 2010, R. Stewart & B.Crocker, WELT A032191 ; Cavalli islands, Motokawanui , 9 Apr. 2013, R. D’Archino, AK 384068. South Island: Marlborough Sounds, Queen Charlotte Sound mouth, White Rocks , 20 Nov. 2008, R. D’Archino , WELT A034492 ; Queen Charlotte Sound mouth, D’Urville I., 27 Mar. 2017, beam trawl, WELT A034505 ; Arnott Point , 10 Dec. 200, N.Shears, WELT A026837 ; Fiordland, Doubtful Sound, Secretary Island , 22 Jan. 2000, C.Duffy, WELT A026094 ; Shelter Islands , 27 Jan. 2008, F.Thomas, C.Hepburn, & D.Richards, WELT A034491 ; Fiordland, Breaksea Sound , 19 Dec. 2019, R. D’Archino , WELT A034502 ; Fiordland, Dusky Sound, Five-Fingers Peninsula , 14 Nov. 1984, P.Brotherson, WELT A016265 . Rakiura / Stewart Island: Port Pegasus , Hell’s Gates , 4 Mar. 2009, C.Hepburn, AK384065; Port Pegasus , Pearl Island outer, 6 Mar. 2009, R. D’Archino, AK 384067, and Pearl Island , 3 Dec. 2018, M.Desmond & A.Kluibenschedl, WELT A034498 .

Distribution

On the basis of the results of phylogenetic analyses and examination of herbarium specimens, the distribution of Lindauera papenfussii is now understood to extend in New Zealand from Manawatāwhi/Three Kings Islands, and the northern North Island through to the southern South Island (particularly Fiordland), and Stewart Island ( Fig. 2 ), and in Australia it has been found in both New South Wales and South Australia.

Habitat and ecology

Lindauera papenfussii is found from the upper subtidal zone through to depths of at least 20 m, usually in areas of moderate exposure. It is found growing on rocky reefs as well as on stable shell hash and cobbles. It can be locally abundant, forming dense patches.

Phenology

Specimens have been collected throughout the year, with fertile material recorded from November through to February (late spring through summer).

Conservation status

Nelson et al. (2019) categorised Dictyota papenfussii as ‘data deficient’ on the basis of the information available at the time of assessment.

Notes

The morphology of L. papenfussii is quite variable, having pointed to rounded tips, and in the height that thalli attain. In northern areas, thalli are typically smaller than those found in the south and generally have more rounded and diverging apices than specimens collected from Taranaki south.

Figures

Fig. 1. Holotype specimen of Dictyota papenfussii Lindauer, AK295737.

Fig. 5. Specimens showing morphological variation present in Lindauera papenfussii. (a) WELT A026094, Doubtful Sound, Fiordland; (b) WELT A032190, Te Miko Reef, Bay of Islands.

Fig. 6. Attachment to shells with prostrate axes (a, b). WELT A032191.

Fig. 2. Map showing regions of New Zealand where Lindauera papenfussii has been recorded and sites of specimen records confirmed with sequence data.