Bryopsis nana M. J. Wynne 2005

Bryopsis nana M. J. Wynne, 2005 Bryopsis nana M. J. Wynne, 2005 Materials Type status: Other material. Occurrence: occurrenceID: 2E91F491-1651-553F-8D11-E9507F9AC37A; Taxon: kingdom: Plantae; phylum: Chlorophyta; class: Ulvophyceae; order: Bryopsidales; family: Bryopsidaceae; genus: Bryopsis; specificEpithet: nana; taxonRank: species; scientificNameAuthorship: M. J. Wynne, 2005; nomenclaturalCode: ICN; taxonomicStatus: accepted; taxonRemarks: First record for Algeria and for the Mediterranean Sea.; Location: higherGeography: Africa; Algeria; Algiers; Ain Benian; southwestern Mediterranean Sea; continent: Africa; waterBody: Mediterranean Sea; country: Algeria; countryCode: DZ; stateProvince: Algiers; municipality: Ain Benian; locality: Plage l'Ilot; locationRemarks: Epiphytic on a geniculate coralline alga, on an exposed rocky / vermetid platform; verbatimCoordinates: 36°48'21.312''N, 2°54'19.332''E; verbatimLatitude: 36°48'21.312''N; verbatimLongitude: 2°54'19.332''E; verbatimCoordinateSystem: degrees minutes seconds; verbatimSRS: WGS 84; decimalLatitude: 36.80592; decimalLongitude: 2.90537; Record Level: institutionCode: ENSSMAL (National Higher School of Marine Science and Coastal Development, Campus Universitaire de Dely Ibrahim, Bois des Cars, B. P. 19, 16047 Algiers, Algeria) Description The thallus was erect, simple and very small, measuring approximately 5 mm in height (Fig. 4). It consisted of a primary axis bearing lateral pinnules. Branching was radial and limited to a single order. The pinnules were inserted around the axis and were mainly concentrated at the apex of the primary axis, forming a distal cluster (Fig. 5). The primary axis reached a maximum diameter of 408 µm near the basal region and gradually tapered towards the apex (Fig. 6). The largest observed pinnules were approximately 608 µm long and 160 µm in diameter (Fig. 7). Persistent scars of shed pinnules were visible along part of the primary axis; these scars measured approximately 40–50 µm in diameter and were radially arranged (Fig. 8). Chloroplasts were discoid, very small, approximately 3–6 µm in diameter, and contained a single pyrenoid each (Fig. 9). The basal part of the thallus was attached to an articulation of the geniculate coralline host alga. Diagnosis The Algerian material is characterized by a very small erect thallus, radial single-order branching, pinnules concentrated mainly near the apex, dimensions matching the protologue, scars of shed pinnules 40–50 µm in diameter, and very small discoid chloroplasts with one pyrenoid. This combination distinguishes it from the other Mediterranean Bryopsis taxa considered in the consulted identification sources (Rodríguez-Prieto et al. 2013, Cormaci et al. 2014).