Electronic Flora of South Australia Family Fact Sheet

SUBFAMILY MASTOPHOROIDEAE Setchell 1943: 134 (as `Mastophoreae')

Phylum Rhodophyta – Class Florideophyceae – Order Corallinales – Family Corallinaceae

Thallus partly unconsolidated to encrusting, warty, lumpy, fruticose, discoid, layered, foliose or arborescent, prostrate to erect; partially endophytic, epigenous or unattached and free-living as rhodoliths; genicula absent. Structure pseudoparenchymatous with monomerous or dimerous construction or both, or rarely partly filamentous with diffuse construction; cells of adjacent filaments joined by cell-fusions, secondary pit-connections absent or rare.

Reproduction: Vegetative reproduction by thallus fragmentation or propagules.

Gametangia, carposporangia, tetrasporangia and bisporangia borne in uniporate
conceptacles.

Gametangial thalli monoecious or dioecious; carpogonia and spermatangia produced in separate conceptacles or rarely in the same conceptacle. Carpogonial filaments 2- to 3-celled, arising from the female conceptacle chamber floor. Carposporophytes developing within female conceptacles after karyogamy, composed of carposporangia terminating short gonimoblast filaments that arise from a conspicuous central fusion cell or from an irregularly shaped fusion cell that may look discontinuous in section. Spermatangial filaments unbranched, confined to the male conceptacle chamber floor or more rarely produced both on floor and roof.

Tetrasporangia and bisporangia usually borne on separate thalli from gametangia and carposporangia, lacking apical plugs; tetrasporangia and bisporangia usually with zonately arranged spores. Conceptacle roofs formed from filaments interspersed amongst and peripheral to developing sporangia or only from filaments peripheral to developing sporangia.

Type genus: Mastophora Decaisne 1842a: 365.

Taxonomic notes: The Mastophoroideae includes eight genera, all of which are represented in southern Australia. The key to genera is adapted from that of Penrose & Chamberlain (1993, p. 303). Information on the historical background of the subfamily has been provided by Johansen (1981) and Woelkerling (1988).

References:

DECAISNE, J. (1842a). Essais sur une classification des Algues et des Polypiers calcifères de Lamouroux. Ann. Sci. Nat., 2 Sér. Bot., 17, 297–380, Plates 14–17.

JOHANSEN, H.W. (1981). Coralline Algae, a first synthesis. (CRC Press: Boca Raton, Florida.)

PENROSE, D. & CHAMBERLAIN, Y.M. (1993). Hydrolithon farinosum (Lamouroux) comb. nov.: implications for generic concepts in the Mastophoroideae (Corallinaceae, Rhodophyta). Phycologia 32, 295–303.

SETCHELL, W.A. (1943). Mastophora and the Mastophoreae: Genus and subfamily of Corallinaceae. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. Washington 29, 127–135.

WOELKERLING, Wm.J. (1988). The Coralline Red Algae. [British Museum (N.H.): London.]

The Marine Benthic Flora of Southern Australia Part IIIB complete list of references.

Author: Non-geniculate taxa by W.J. Woelkerling (with contributions by A.S Harvey & D.L. Penrose). Geniculate taxa by H.B.S. Womersley & H.W. Johansen.

Publication: Womersley, H.B.S. (28 June, 1996)
The Marine Benthic Flora of Southern Australia
Rhodophyta. Part IIIB. Gracilarialse, Rhodymeniales, Corallinales and Bonnemaisoniales
Reproduced with permission from The Marine Benthic Flora of Southern Australia Part IIIB 1996, by H.B.S. Womersley. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. Copyright Commonwealth of Australia.

KEY TO GENERA OF MASTOPHOROIDEAE

1. Vegetative thallus endophytic; epithallial cells absent from vegetative portions; haustoria present	LESUEURIA
1. Vegetative thallus epigenous or growing unattached; epithallial cells present in vegetative portions; haustoria absent	2
2. Thallus possessing a conspicuous ventral or central layer of filaments composed of palisade cells	3
2. Thallus lacking a conspicuous ventral or central layer of filaments composed of palisade cells	5
3. Thallus, at least in older parts, composed of many layers of cells, anchored to substrate at only one point by a holdfast and producing a distinct stipe	METAMASTOPHORA
3. Thallus mostly 2–3 (–5) cells thick except near conceptacles or points of branching, anchored to substrate by cell adhesion or rhizoids or growing unattached	4
4. Tetrasporangial and bisporangial conceptacles with a central columella, roofs formed only by filaments peripheral to the sporangial initials, sporangia confined to the periphery of the conceptacle chamber floor	MASTOPHORA
4. Tetrasporangial and bisporangial conceptacles lacking a central columella, roofs formed by filaments surrounding and interspersed amongst sporangial initials, sporangia scattered across the conceptacle chamber floor	LITHOPORELLA
5. Tetrasporangial and bisporangial conceptacle pore canals lined by cells that are orientated more or less perpendicularly to the roof surface and do not protrude laterally into the pore canal	HYDROLITHON
5. Tetrasporangial and bisporangial conceptacle pore canals lined by cells that are orientated more or less parallel to the roof surface and protrude laterally into the pore canal	6
6. Tetrasporangial and bisporangial conceptacle roofs formed by filaments surrounding and interspersed amongst sporangial initials; southern Australian specimens epiphytic	PNEOPHYLLUM
6. Tetrasporangial and bisporangial conceptacle roofs formed only by filaments peripheral to the sporangial initials; southern Australian specimens epilithic, epizoic or unattached	7
7. Spermatangia formed on only the floors of male conceptacle chambers; gonimoblast filaments arising from peripheral surfaces of fusion cells	SPONG11 ES
7. Spermatangia formed both on the floors and roofs of male conceptacle chambers; gonimoblast filaments arising from dorsal surfaces of fusion cells	NEOGONIOLITHON

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