<i>Thorea indica</i> sp. nov. (Thoreales, Rhodophyta) from Uttar Pradesh, India

doi:2015.30.4.265

Algae > Volume 30(4); 2015 > Article

Algae 2015;30(4): 265-274. doi: https://doi.org/10.4490/algae.2015.30.4.265

Thorea indica sp. nov. (Thoreales, Rhodophyta) from Uttar Pradesh, India

Orlando Necchi Jr.¹^,*, Monica O. Paiano¹, John A. West², E. K. Ganesan³,a and Susan Loiseaux-de Goër⁴

¹Department of Zoologia e Botânica, UNESP-Campus de São José do Rio Preto, Rua Cristóvão Colombo, 2265, 15054-000 S. Jose Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
²School of Biosciences 2, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
³Instituto Oceanográfico, Universidad de Oriente, Cumaná 6101, Venezuela
⁴11 Rue des Moguerou, 29680 Roscoff, France

*Corresponding Author

Email: orlando@ibilce.unesp.br

ABSTRACT

Thorea indica sp. nov. is described from the Sai River, Uttar Pradesh, India (26°39′00.7″ N, 80°47′38.3″ E). Its classification is based on molecular sequences of the plastid-encoded RuBisCO large-subunit gene, rbcL and the barcode region of the mitochondrial encoded cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1, cox1, and morphological data. The sequence analyses confirm a new species of Thorea. The cox1 barcode sequence had 90.4-90.8% identity with Thorea sp. from Australia and Thorea hispida from Hawaii and China. Based on rbcL sequences the Indian specimen was positioned in a major clade with high support (>95 bootstrap and 0.95 posterior probability) containing two other species: T. okadae from Japan and T. hispida from the continental USA, Hawaii, the UK, and China. The divergences among these sequences were T. indica vs. T. okadae (2.8%) and T. indica vs. T. hispida (2.9-3.4%). The comparison of morphological characters of Thorea from India was not conclusive due to the inadequate descriptions in previous reports: most specimens reported as T. hispida fit within the circumscription of T. indica as described here. The previous report of T. siamensis from the Sai River is incorrect and the specimens fit within our description of T. indica. Thorea indica and T. okadae can be distinguished by minor morphometric characters and sexuality (dioecious vs. monoecious).

Key words: cox1; India; molecular systematics; morphology; rbcL; reproduction; Thorea indica sp. nov.; Thoreales