Centroceras gasparrinii var. minor (Ceramiaceae, Rhodophyta) in the North Adriatic Sea (Mediterranean): molecular and morphological characterization and distribution. Centroceras gasparrinii var. minor

During this study Centroceras sp. from the Adriatic Sea (Italy and Croatia) was examined in order to obtain a correct identification of the species that are effectively present in this area according to the new classification. Several specimens were analysed using the DNA barcoding method and in particular the plastid rbcL marker. As in the other studied areas of the Mediterranean the species identified in this study was C. gasparrinii and the sequences obtained in this work represent the first molecular data of this taxon for the Mediterranean area. C. clavulatum was excluded from the North Adriatic algal flora. Morphologically the Italian and Croatian samples differed from that of other regions (excluded Korea and Greece) for the number of periaxial cells (max 12 in Italian and Croatian specimens, more than 13 in the others) suggesting the presence of different varieties. This is supported also by the phylogenetic reconstruction. We propose the variety C. gasparrinii var. minor.