Lessonia meridionalis, ZuccareLLo & School, 2024

Lessonia meridionalis sp. nov. Zuccarello & D’Archino ( Fig. 3 c View Fig )

Description: Attached by variable to massive rigid/robust haptera and multiple stipes; with blades emanating from the intercalary meristem. Blades split ontogenetically. Blades parallel; various widths, usually without widely spaced teeth; distinguished from L. variegata by blade edges of a lighter golden colour ( Fig. 5 c, f, g View Fig ). Reproduction as in L. variegata in sori on blades. Distinguished from other species by the genetic regions: Mitochondrial: (1) the spacer between the tRNA’s for tryptophan and isoleucine (trn W-spacer), a partial sequence of the gene coding for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) dehydrogenase subunit 6 (nad6); (2) partial cytochrome oxidase subunit I and 3) the spacer region between adenosine tri-phosphate dehydrogenase subunit 8 and tRNA serine (atp8-Sp); the chloroplast regions: (1) the spacer between the large and small subunit of the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase gene (rbc -spacer); (2) ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase large subunit gene (rbc L); the nuclear region covering the internal transcribed spacers (1 and 2) between the small and large ribosomal RNA subunits, and including the 5.8S ribosomal RNA (ITS) ( Martin & Zuccarello 2012, Zuccarello & Martin 2016).

Etymology: Named for its southern geographic distribution on the South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura of New Zealand

Holotype: WELT A035567 About WELT GoogleMaps

Phycobank registration: http://phycobank.org/104241

Type locality: Native Island, Stewart Island/Rakiura , New Zealand (46.9163667 oS, 168.1594833 oE)

Holotype sequence data: rbc L: OR978108; COI: OR978114 About COI ; trn W-L spacer: OR978119.