Kumanoa baiyunensis, Fang & Nan & Feng & Lv & Liu & Liu & Xie, 2021

Fang, Kun-Peng, Nan, Fang-Ru, Feng, Jia, Lv, Jun-Ping, Liu, Qi, Liu, Xu-Dong & Xie, Shu-Lian, 2021, A New Species of Kumanoa (Batrachospermales, Rhodophyta) from Baiyun Mountain, Guangdong, China, Phytotaxa 523 (1), pp. 89-98 : 95

Kumanoa baiyunensis K.-P.Fang, F.-R.Nan & S.-L.Xie sp. nov. ( Figs. 3A–L )

Description:—Plants monoecious, moderately mucilaginous, dark green, small, only 0.5–1 cm high. Thallus branching irregular, frequent in the upper part of the thallus. Whorls well developed, confluent, barrel-shaped, 350–450 µm wide. Internodes 150–350 µm; axis colorless, axial cells 20–50 µm in diameter; cortical filaments profuse, cylindrical, 5–10 um in diameter, 20 µm or more long. Primary fascicles straight, dichotomously branched, 2-3 times branched, composed of 5–7 cells, ellipsoidal, 5–8 µm in diameter, 20–40 µm long. Secondary fascicles, abundant, covering the entire internode, unbranched or dichotomously branched, shorter or as long as the primary fascicles, composed of 3–7 cells. Spermatangia spherical, sparse, single-grown, terminal on primary fascicles, 7–9 µm in diameter. Carpogonial branches helically twisted, arising from the pericentral cells; involucral filaments short, dense, composed of 1–3 cells; carpogonia with club-shaped trichogynes, distinctly stalked, 30–50 µm long, 6–10 µm in diameter. Carposporophytes sessile, one per whorl, lower or as high as whorl radius, dense and spherical, 150–250 µm in diameter. Carposporangia obovoid or elliptical, 7–10 µm in diameter, 15–20 µm long, terminal on gonimoblast filaments.

Diagnosis: ―The new species differs from other Kumanoa species in the following combination of characters: small plant size with abundant branching in upper part of thallus; carposporophytes spherical and one per whorl; club-shaped trichogynes with distinct stalk; spermatangia sparse and single-grown, terminal on primary fascicles. Diagnostic DNA sequence: rbc L, COI-5P and LSU (accession number: MW798266 for rbc L, MW798267 for COI-5P and MW794124 for UPA).

Type locality: China, Guangdong, Baiyun Mountain (24° 15′ 5″ N, 113° 18′ 2″ E). On the wall of a stony pool formed by groundwater from dry mountain stream of the Baiyun Mountain .

Holotype designated here: Liquid immersion specimens (SXU-GD20001) and herbarium voucher (Holotype SXU-GD20002, Isotype SXU-GD20003) were deposited in Herbarium of Shanxi University ( SXU), Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China. November 2020 by Kun-peng Fang.

Etymology: The species epithet refers to the type locality (Baiyun mountain, China).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Morphological structures of Kumanoa baiyunensis sp. nov. A. Habitat in the stony pool of Baiyun Mountain. Small thallus of K. baiyunensis (white arrow). B. Vegetative thalli of K. baiyunensis.. C. Upper part of thallus with abundant branches, containing spherical carposporophytes (arrows). D. Main axis with confluent whorls containing spherical and sessile carposporophytes, one per whorl (arrows). E. Mature main axis with distinct barrelshaped whorls. F. Node showing axial cell (arrow). G. Cortical filament cells (arrow). H. Densely packed cells of spherical carposporophyte. I. Spherical, sparse, and single-grown spermatangia (arrows), terminal on primary fascicles. J. Young carposporophyte with obovoid carposporangia (arrows) at the tips of gonimoblast filaments. K. Carpogonium with club-shaped trichogyne (arrow) on a helically twisted carpogonial branch (arrowhead). L. Fertilized carpogonium with club-shaped and distinctly stalked (arrowhead) trichogyne (arrow), and gonimoblast initials (double arrow). Scale bars: 5 mm (B), 100 μm (C & D), 50 μm (E), 20 μm (F–L).