New records of the genus Lobophora (Dictyotales: Phaeophyceae) for the marine flora of Cuba and their distribution in the Greater Caribbean Sea

Abstract

To date, 18 species of the algal genus Lobophora (Dictyotales, Phaeophyceae) have been reported for the Greater Caribbean Sea. Nevertheless, only 2 have been recorded for the marine flora of Cuba, Lobophora variegata and Lobophora canariensis (as Aglaozonia canariensis). To update the knowledge about this genus in Cuba, an exhaustive morphological study was performed using macroalgae collected from Western Cuba: Ecological Reserve Los Pretiles (Pinar del Río Province; May 2011), Gulf of Guanahacabibes (Pinar del Río Province; June 2014) and Calle 16 beach (La Habana Province; April and May 2019). The species found were: L. canariensis, L. declerckii, L. guadeloupensis, L. littlerorum and L. variegata. The identified species were deposited in the Cuban National Aquarium Herbarium (HANC). Morphological descriptions from Cuban material are here presented. In addition, the distribution of these species in the Greater Caribbean Sea is undertaken. We report for the first time L. guadeloupensis in the Greater Antilles. These new records increase the specific richness in Cuba and expand the distribution range of Lobophora species for the Greater Caribbean Sea.