Zosterocarpus abyssicola

Last updated

Zosterocarpus abyssicola
Zosterocarpus abyssicolus.jpg
Fig. 9, part of a branch showing the branchlets, young tannin-filled cells, and early gametangium development.
Fig. 10, branch tip showing the acute apex, the intercalary growth zones, and a yellow tannin-filled cell.
Fig. 11, junctions of the forks of two larger branches and a well-developed gametangial area
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Clade: Diaphoretickes
Clade: SAR
Clade: Stramenopiles
Phylum: Gyrista
Subphylum: Ochrophytina
Class: Phaeophyceae
Order: Ectocarpales
Family: Chordariaceae
Genus: Zosterocarpus
Species:
Z. abyssicola
Binomial name
Zosterocarpus abyssicola
W.R.Taylor, 1945
Synonyms

Zosterocarpus abyssicola is a species of brown algae endemic to the Galapagos islands.

Contents

Distribution

This is a very inconspicuous species and hard to identify, so much that it is only known from its collection of types. [1] The only specimens were collected in 1934 at Post Office Bay by Floreana Island in the Galápagos Islands, and the species is considered endemic to the area. [2] A 2007 search failed to find any further specimens. [1]

Etymology

The specific epithet abyssicola derives from the Greek ἄβυσσος (ávyssos) and Latin -cola, meaning one who inhabits the abyss. However, it has only been found at 55 meters depth, [2] and is photosynthetic, so the name is hyperbole.

Description

The thallus is a light green-brown and 1-2 cm tall. [2] The form is rather diffuse and spreading, without a persistent main axis. [2] The cells of the major branches are thin-walled, cylindrical, and 32 μm in diameter and 58-65 μm long. [2]

The characteristic oval brown cells were assumed to be the sporangia by Taylor, [2] but are special tannin-filled cells. [3] These are scattered throughout the upper thallus, but solitary, measuring about 30 μm in diameter and 68-70 μm long. [2] They contain oval-shaped bodies. [2]

The gametangia are in clusters of 4-6 cells and only 6-8 μm in diameter. [2]

The species lacks phaeophycean "hairs" and the parenchyma is weakly developed. [3] It is more slender than Z. oedogonium , and the brown tannin cells for the former are wider than the rest of the filaments, ad opposed to the same size. [2] Z. ogasawaraensis and Z. australicus lack these special cells. [3] The latter two also have laterals that arise from single sells on the filaments and not from the septa between cells like the former two species. [3]

Ecology

The species is an epiphyte. [2] It is thought to be eaten by sea urchins. [1]

Conservation

It has been evaluated by the IUCN as data deficient, and is one of only fifteen protists evaluated by IUCN. [1] Like Desmarestia tropica , another William Randolph Taylor find from the same expedition, it is threatened by warming ocean temperatures and overgrazing by sea urchins. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conceptacle</span>

Conceptacles are specialized cavities of marine and freshwater algae that contain the reproductive organs. They are situated in the receptacle and open by a small ostiole. Conceptacles are present in Corallinaceae, and Hildenbrandiales, as well as the brown Fucales. In the Fucales there is no haploid phase in the reproductive cycle and therefore no alternation of generations. The thallus is a sporophyte. The diploid plants produce male (antheridia) and female (oogonia) gametangia by meiosis. The gametes are released into the surrounding water; after fusion, the zygote settles and begins growth.

<i>Ectocarpus siliculosus</i> Species of brown alga

Ectocarpus siliculosus is a filamentous brown alga. Its genome was the first brown macroalgal genome to be sequenced, with the expectation that E. siliculosus will serve as a genetic and genomic model for brown macroalgae.

Calopadia cinereopruinosa is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Pilocarpaceae. Found in the Galápagos Islands, it was described as new to science in 2011. It is characterized by its grey-black, white-pruinose apothecia and aeruginous hypothecium. This lichen usually grows on the bark of stems and twigs in the humid zones of the islands.

Sirodotia huillensis Skuja is a freshwater red algal species belonging to the family Batrachospermaceae. This species mostly reported from high altitude forest streams.

<i>Desmarestia tropica</i> Species of critically endangered, possibly extinct, seaweed in the family Desmarestiaceae

Desmarestia tropica, sometimes called tropical acidweed, is a species of seaweed in the family Desmarestiaceae. It is critically endangered, possibly extinct, and one of only fifteen protists evaluated by IUCN. Endemic to the Galápagos Islands, the specific epithet tropica alludes to its tropical habitat, rare for members of Desmarestiales. The common name acidweed applies to members of the genus Desmarestia, generally characterized by fronds containing vacuoles of concentrated sulfuric acid, but it is unclear if this species also produces acid.

William Randolph Taylor was an American botanist known as an expert in phycology.

Ramalina erosa is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It was described as a new species by Hildur Krog in 1990. The type specimen was collected from Pico do Facho on Porto Santo Island (Portugal), where it was found growing on acidic rock at an elevation of 500 m (1,600 ft).

Crustaphytum is a genus of red alga first discovered in Taoyuan algal reefs by Taiwanese scientists. The epithet “crusta” refers to crustose thallus and “phytum” refers to plant. Belonging to the family Hapalidiaceae in the order Hapalidiales, Crustaphytum is one kind of crustose coralline algae.

Waynea cretica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), squamulose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It occurs on the Greek island of Crete and in Portugal.

Inoderma sorediatum is a species of crustose lichen in the family Arthoniaceae. It is only known to occur on the bark of trees in Poland's Białowieża National Park. It is differentiated from other species in genus Inoderma by the form of its thallus, which is entirely made of powdery, granular soredia, as well as by the presence of a unique combination of lichen products.

Biatora pacifica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It is found in Russia, Japan, and South Korea, where it grows along the Pacific coast. It inhabits the bark of a variety of coniferous and deciduous plants.

Wahlenbergiella tavaresiae is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Known from several locations in the San Francisco Bay area of the United States, it is a marine lichen that inhabits intertidal zones, and as such is immersed in seawater on a regular basis. Associated algal species include the red algae Hildenbrandia and Mastocarpus papillatus, and the brown algae Pelvetiopsis and Fucus. Petroderma maculiforme, a brown alga, is the photobiont partner in the lichen.

Verrucaria simplex is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in Europe and Asia, it was described as new to science in 1988 by lichenologist Patrick McCarthy. The type specimen was collected by Brian Coppins from Morpeth, Northumberland; there, it was found growing on a fragment of mortar-cement lying on the floor of a woodland. The lichen was later reported from the Czech Republic, and Korea.

Dictyonema album is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. It is found in Mauritius, where it grows as an epiphyte on shrubs.

Pertusaria albineoides is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Pertusariaceae. Found on the Galápagos Islands, it was formally described as a new species in 2015 by Frank Bungartz, A.W.Archer, Alba Yánez-Ayabaca, and John Elix. The type specimen was collected on Alcedo Volcano at an altitude of 1,089 m (3,573 ft), where it was found growing on a partially shaded, rain- and wind-exposed trunk of Scalesia microcephala. The species epithet refers to the similarity to the species Pertusaria albinea, from which it differs by having thin-walled ellipsoid-shaped ascospores that are longer and narrower.

Phaeographis striata is a species of script lichen in the family Graphidaceae, endemic to the Galápagos Islands. It is characterized by its inconspicuous thallus and striate (grooved) thalline margins of the lirellae. The species is found in the lower transition zone, growing on columnar cacti and other plants native to the region.

Dictyonema ramificans is a basidiolichen species in the family Hygrophoraceae. Discovered in 2010 in the Galapagos Islands, it was formally described as a new species in 2017 by lichenologists Manuela Dal-Forno, Alba Yanez-Ayabaca, and Robert Lücking. Its species epithet is derived from the branching pattern of the fibrils that form a net-like structure, giving it an arachnoid (cobweb-like) appearance. This species has only been found in the humid zone of Santa Cruz Island, growing exclusively on bryophytes. While it is similar to other Dictyonema species, it differs in its unique fibril branching pattern and erect arachnoid structure.

Usnea leana is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in the Galápagos Islands, it characterized by its pendulous thallus, branches covered with point-like pseudocyphellae, and the presence of galbinic acid. This lichen is currently known to be endemic to the Galápagos, with only two known localities representing its distribution.

<i>Chrysothrix insulizans</i> Species of lichen

Chrysothrix insulizans is a species of leprose lichen in the family Chrysotrichaceae. It is a distinctive species of lichen characterized by its bright yellow-green to yellow-orange coloring and unique growth patterns. Most collections have been found growing on rocks, although a few have been recorded growing on bark.

Dictyonema krogiae is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. It is found in Kenya, where it grows as an epiphyte on trees. It is often found in association with other lichens, such as Parmotrema, and bryophytes, such as Frullania. A main characteristic that distinguishes it from other closely related species is its clearly defined internal layers, including its contrasting dense photobiont layer and a loose lower cortex.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Miller, K.A.; Garske, L.; Edgar, G. (2007). "Zosterocarpus abyssicola". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2007: e.T63592A12685875. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T63592A12685875.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Taylor, William Randolph (May 1945). "Pacific marine Algae of the Allan Hancock expeditions to the Galapagos islands" (TIF). Allen Hancock Pacific Expeditions. 12: 79–80, 320–321. LCCN   42021995. OCLC   758261137 . Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Kitayama, Taiju (22 November 2013). "Morphology of Zosterocarpus ogasawaraensis sp. nov. (Phaeophyceae, Ochrophyta), a New Marine Deep-water Brown Alga from the Ogasawara Islands, Japan" (PDF). Bulletin of the National Museum of Nature and Science. 39 (4): 159–164. ISSN   1881-9060. OCLC   5528941544 . Retrieved 16 August 2018.