Caulerpa cupressoides (Vahl) C. Agardh, 1817

Fernández-García, Cindy, Wysor, Brian, Riosmena-Rodríguez, Rafael, Salamanca, Enrique Peña- & Verbruggen, Heroen, 2016, DNA-assisted identification of Caulerpa (Caulerpaceae, Chlorophyta) reduces species richness estimates for the Eastern Tropical Pacific, Phytotaxa 252 (3), pp. 185-204 : 193-194

Caulerpa cupressoides (H. West in Vahl) C. Agardh 1817: xxiii ( Figure 4 A,B )

Type Locality: −St. Croix, Virgin Islands. Missapplied names: − C. mexicana Sonder ex Kützing sensu Pedroche et al. 2005

Description: −Light green erect cylindrical assimilators. Branching pinnate opposite, with fusiform ramuli placed in several longitudinal rows along a cylindrical main axis. The specimens found in Mexico are (0.5–) 0.6–0.8 (–1.1) cm high and (1.1–) 1.4–1.9 (–2.3) mm wide. Stolons creeping, (0.7–) 0.7–0.9 (–1.0) mm diameter. However, Schnetter & Bula-Meyer (1982) documented specimens in Colombia that reached 20 cm high with stolons of 3 mm diameter.

Habitat: −attached to rocky substratum, to 2 m deep.

Distribution in the ETP: − Mexico: Nayarit, Jalisco, Central America, Colombia: Isla Gorgona, Ecuador: Islas Galápagos. Caulerpa cupressoides shows a very limited distribution. In our recent collections we found one specimen along the Mexican coast (Nayarit) ( Figure 3 ), but the species has been recorded in other parts of the ETP. Dawson (1962a) reported the species for Central America (no specific locality), while Schnetter & Bula-Meyer (1982) reported it for Colombia, and Pedroche et al. (2005) for other sites along the Mexican coast.

References: − Taylor 1945, Dawson 1962a, Schnetter & Bula-Meyer 1982, Pedroche et al. 2005, Fernández-García et al. 2011.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Distribution of Caulerpa species in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.

FIGURE 4. Habit and frond morphology: (A,B) C. cupressoides (MX0382), (C,D) C. racemosa (CFPA-1004).