About
Contact
Links
Electronic Flora of South Australia
Electronic Flora of South Australia
Census of SA Plants, Algae & Fungi
Identification tools
 

Electronic Flora of South Australia Family Fact Sheet

SUBFAMILY METAGONIOLITHOIDEAE Johansen 1969: 47

Phylum Rhodophyta – Class Florideophyceae – Order Corallinales – Family Corallinaceae

Thallus with an encrusting non-geniculate holdfast and erect, terete, geniculate fronds, di- or trichotomous or with several clustered lateral branches from the genicula. Structure of branches multiaxial, apices with conspicuous mucilaginous caps but without epithallial cells; intergenicula with multi-tiered medulla, with lateral cell-fusions but without lateral pit-connections; genicula of many-celled untiered filaments, producing lateral branches. Cortex on both intergenicula and genicula (less well developed), of short splaying filaments with short epithallial cells.

Reproduction: Conceptacles uniporate, borne laterally on the intergenicula. Gametangial thalli dioecious. Carpogonial filaments 2-celled, carposporangia terminating short gonimoblast filaments arising from the margins of a thin basal fusion cell. Spermatangia on short filaments on the male chamber floor.

Tetrasporangia arising from the floor of the conceptacle chamber, usually peripherally.

Life history triphasic, with isomorphic gametophytes and tetrasporophytes.

Type genus: Metagoniolithon Weber-van Bosse 1904: 101.

Taxonomic notes: The Metagoniolithoideae contains the single genus Metagoniolithon, probably confined to southern and south-western Australian coasts. The conspicuous apical mucilaginous caps, branching from the genicula, non-tiered genicula, multitiered intergenicula, cell-fusions, and conceptacles borne on the surfaces of terete branches, distinguish the subfamily and genus.

References:

JOHANSEN, H.W. (1969). Morphology and systematics of coralline algae with special reference to Calliarthron. Univ. Calif. Pubins Bot. 49, 1–78, Plates 1–19.

WEBER-VAN BOSSE, A. (1904). Corallineae verae of the Malay Archipelago. In Weber-van Bosse & Foslie, M., The Corallinaceae of the Siboga Expedition. Siboga-Expeditae, Monogr. LXI, pp. 78–110, Plates 14–16. (Leiden.)

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.


Disclaimer Copyright Disclaimer Copyright Email Contact:
State Herbarium of South Australia
Government of South Australia Government of South Australia Government of South Australia Department for Environment and Water