Morphological reassessment and molecular assessment of Sargassum (Fucales: Phaeophyceae) species from the Gulf of California, Mexico Andrade-Sorcia, Gabriela Riosmena-Rodríguez, Rafael Muñiz-Salazar, Raquel López-Vivas, Juan Manuel Boo, Ga Hun Lee, Kyung Min Boo, Sung Min Phytotaxa 2014 2014-10-24 183 4 201 223 Setchell & Gardner (1924 Setchell & Gardner 1924 [136,662,336,363] Phaeophyceae Sargassaceae Sargassum GBIF Chromista Fucales 11 212 Ochrophyta species sinicola     Typematerial:— MEXICO. Eureka, near La Paz, Baja California Sur. Marchant no. 20.   Description:—Thalli attached underneath by a coarse holdfast with short, thick protuberances. Stipe cylindrical and smooth. Blades linear-lanceolate, with acute serrated margins. Costate (nerve or midrib) percurrent and conspicuous, evident cryptostomata sparse and inconspicuous. Numerous vesicles present, mostly borne near the base of the pedicel, vesicles spherical, smooth, 3–5 mmin diameter. Pedicels terete, their length equaling the vesicles’ diameter. Receptacles forked, with some thorns, with intermixed antheridial and oogonial receptacles growing in a bunch, receptacles cylindrical with acuminate apices (not spinose), growing in an axillary fashion with vesicles. Thalli with smooth axes, smooth branches and branchlets. Thalli reaching up to 60 cmlong.  Habitat:—Growing on calcareous surfaces (shells) and rocky beds together with  S. horridum,  S. lapazeanumand  S. johnstonii. Thalli grew at temperatures ranging from 8 to 28 °C.  Current distribution:—  Sonora( Turner Island, Pond Island-Guaymas; Kino, Punta Peñasco); Baja California Sur( Concepcion Bay, Eureka, La Paz, San Pedro Martir Island, el Tesoro), Baja California( El Huerfanito).   Remarks:—  Sargassum sinicolawas first described by Setchell & Gardner (1924), who noted the absence of a holdfast in the sample. Dawson (1944)reported that the typespecimen of  S. sinicolawas a fragment of the upper reproductive part and only showed the characteristics of that portion of the plant; although this fragment showed all the characteristics described by Setchell & Gardner (1924). Dawson (1944)described the holdfast of this species and recommended combining characteristics from different structures for identification because the holdfast does not differ sufficiently between species to function as a discriminant characteristic. A description of  S. sinicolawas not included in Dawson’s work since the conspecificity of  S. camouiiand  S. sinicolawas assumed. In this species, a discriminant characteristic is the shape of the vesicle, which is spherical and smooth. It also has a pedicel that is shorter than the sphere’s diameter, growing over the pedicel of the blade. [136,981,513,536] La Paz Mexico Baja California Sur 11 212 1 Baja California Sur holotype La Paz & el Tesoro & El Huerfanito Turner Island San Pedro Martir Island Concepcion Bay 11 212 1 Sonora