MARINE RED ALGAE OF THE MANGROVES IN SOUTHERN PACIFIC MEXICO AND PACIFIC GUATEMALA

Collections of red algae were made from the mangroves in southern Pacific Mexico and Pacific Guatemala in 1993. New records for these areas include Caloglossa ogasawaraensis, C. stipitata, C. leprieurii, Bostrychia moritziana, B. pinnata, B. radicans and Catenella caespitosa. In Caloglossa stipitata as defined by King and Puttock (1994) secondary blades arise from the pericentral cell in the same plane as the main blade; in the Guatemala population however, secondary blades develop from the axial cell as in C. leprieurii. The morphological characters delimiting B. moritziana are also discussed. Culture observations and polyol data suggest important new areas of research on marine red algae from mangrove ecosystems.