Udotea caribaea D.S. Littler & M.M. Littler 1990:211

Acosta-Calderón, Julio Adulfo, Hernández-Rodríguez, César, Mendoza-González, Ángela Catalina & Mateo-Cid, Luz Elena, 2018, Diversity and distribution of Udotea genus J. V. Lamouroux (Chlorophyta, Udoteaceae) in the Yucatan peninsula littoral, Mexico, Phytotaxa 345 (3), pp. 179-218 : 190-192

Udotea caribaea D.S. Littler & M.M. Littler 1990:211

Type Locality:— BELIZE, Northwest side of Tobacco Range.

Morphology: — Thalli to 3.5 cm tall, anchored on substrata by a small compact mass of entangled rhizoidal siphons. Stipe cylindrical, 3–11 mm length, 1–3 mm wide. Gradual transition between the stipe and blade. Blade orbiculate, light green, longer (1–3 cm) than wider (1.5–3.5 cm), lower margin ovate or truncate, multistratose, ecorticate, and heavily calcified. Blade zonation present, although sometimes not evident due to the growth of epiphytic algae on the blade (Figs. 12, 13).

Anatomy: — Blade siphons without lateral appendages, dichotomously branched, 24–80 μm in diameter, distance between each dichotomy varies from 550 to 1100 μm, supradichotomic constrictions 14–21 μm length, 7–24 μm in diameter (Fig. 14). Stipe siphons adjacent to lateral appendages 40–85 μm in diameter, appendages peduncle 111–247 μm length, 22–48 μm in diameter. Appendages dichotomously branched 2–3 times, with small digitate tips (Fig. 15).

Reproduction: — Vegetative

Material examined: — MEXICO. Quintana Roo, Santa Rosa, 9 September 2014, J. A. Acosta Calderón, L. E. Mateo Cid, A. C. Mendoza González, ENCB 23097. MEXICO. Quintana Roo, Punta Piedra, 17 December 2014, J. A. Acosta Calderón, L. E. Mateo Cid, A. C. Mendoza González, ENCB 23094. MEXICO. Quintana Roo, Punta Rio Bermejo, 12 April 2015, J. A. Acosta Calderón, L. E. Mateo Cid, A. C. Mendoza González, ENCB 23093. MEXICO. Quintana Roo, Rio Indio, 13 June 2014, J. A. Acosta Calderón, L. E. Mateo Cid, A. C. Mendoza González, ENCB 23092. MEXICO. Quintana Roo, Isla Mujeres, 16 June 2014, J. A. Acosta Calderón, L. E. Mateo Cid, A. C. Mendoza González, ENCB 23095. MEXICO. Quintana Roo, Punta Mahahual, 10 September 2015, J. A. Acosta Calderón, L. E. Mateo Cid, A. C. Mendoza González, ENCB 23096. MEXICO. Quintana Roo, Punta Akumal, 12 September 2014, J. A. Acosta Calderón, L. E. Mateo Cid, A. C. Mendoza González, ENCB 23098. MEXICO. Quintana Roo. Pulticub, 14 September 2012, J. A. Acosta Calderón, L. E. Mateo Cid, A. C. Mendoza González, ENCB 20817. MEXICO. Quintana Roo, Punta Pelicanos, 20 April 2015, J. A. Acosta Calderón, L. E. Mateo Cid, A. C. Mendoza González, ENCB 22849.

Geographic distribution: — Bermuda, Belize, Panama, Cuba, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Mexico.

Habitat: — Subtidal rocky platforms with moderate surge.

Comments: — The shape of the stipe appendages agrees with those described by Littler & Littler (1990). Regarding the dimensions of the blade and stipe siphons, the thalli examined show a wider range than those recorded in specimens from Belize ( Littler & Littler 1990), but coincide with those recorded in thalli from Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Mexico ( Collado-Vides et al. 2009). In this paper, the wide distribution of this species is confirmed in the Quintana Roo littoral.