Colpomenia sinuosa

Chiloe, Chile central, Chile norte, Isla de Pascua, Juan Fernandez, Peru

Colpomenia sinuosa (Roth) Derbès et Solier

Ulva sinuosa Roth, 1806:327, pl. 12a–c.

Colpomenia sinuosa (Roth) Derbès et Solier, 1856:11, pl. 22: figs. 18–20.–Saunders, 1898:164, pl. 32: figs. 7,8.–Setchell and Gardner, 1925:539, pl. 45: figs. 82–86 [with reference to Gulf of California specimens only].–Dawson, 1944:232; 1959:19; 1966:10. [Cf. Misra, 1966:115–6, for synonymy.]

DESCRIPTION.—Thalli (Figure 1) globular or vesicular, becoming irregularly convoluted and expanded with age, reaching a diameter of 14 cm; wall 300–500 μm thick, composed of a surface layer of small pigmented cuboidal cells (Figure 2a) and 4–6 layers of gradually larger, irregularly shaped subcortical and medullary cells; plurilocular organs (Figure 2b) uniseriate (to partially biseriate), about 40 μm in length, clustered in fairly discrete sori often around an invaginated tuft of hairs; paraphyses longer than plurilocular organs, to 55 μm in length; color golden brown; unilocular sporangia unknown.

TYPE-LOCALITY.—Cadiz, Spain.

HOLOTYPE.—Destroyed at Berlin-Dahlem (according to Dawson et al., 1964).

GULF OF CALIFORNIA DISTRIBUTION.—Growing on rocks and epiphytic on various algae, subtidal (13–16 m depths) to midlittoral levels; throughout the Gulf of California from Puerto Peñasco to Bahía Agua Verde.

GULF OF CALIFORNIA SEASONALITY.—November–April.

DISTRIBUTION.—Common in tropical and subtropical seas throughout the world.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED.—Gulf of California. Sonora: Punta Pelicano, vicinity of Puerto Peñasco, 17 Mar 1973, JN–3811 (UC); 19 Apr 1973, JN–3966 (MEXU); 9 Mar 1974, JN–4982 (US), (leg. JN and KB); Feb 1965, Dawson 27558 (ARIZ). Playa Arenosa, vicinity of Puerto Peñasco, 26 Dec 1972, Wynne 3754 (MICH, TEX); 17 Apr 1973, JN–3911 (MICH). Playa Hermosa, Puerto Peñasco, littoral rock platform and sand areas, 2 Feb 1973, JN–3702 (MICH). Playa Estación, Puerto Peñasco, littoral rock platform and tide pools, Feb 1968, (TEX), (leg. R. Hoshaw); 25 Dec 1972, Wynne 3733 (MICH, TEX); 22 Jan 1973, JN–3621 (US); 25 Nov 1972, JN–3663 (UC), (leg. JN and KB); 4 Feb 1973, JN–3746 (MICH); 4 Mar 1973, JN–3783 (US), JN–3786 (TEX), JN–3801 (MEXU), (leg. JN and KB); 3 Feb 1973, JN–4717 (UC); 18 Jan 1974, JN–4760 (US), (leg. JN and KB); 9 Feb 1974, JN–4929 (UC); 5 Feb 1974, JN–4952 (US) and JN–4956 (ARIZ, MICH, US); 1 Mar 1974, JN–5013 (ARIZ, MICH); 24 Mar 1974, JN–5108 (US), (leg. J. Woessner and W. Wheeler). N side of Punta Lobos, vicinity of Puerto de Lobos, 3 m depth, sand covered rock, 17 Feb 1973, JN–6035 (US), (leg. M. Helvey). W side of Punta Robinson, vicinity of Puerto Libertad, 4.5 m depth, rock reef, 17 Nov 1973, JN–4824 (UC), (leg. JN and KB). Punta Cirio, S of Puerto Libertad, epiphytic on Sargassum stipes, W side of cove, 18 Nov 1973, JN–4913 (TEX), (leg. JN and KB). Desemboque de San Ignacio, drift, 3 Apr 1974, JN–5140 (TEX), (leg. R. S. Felger, R. E. Schultes, and A. T. Weil). Isla San Pedro Nolasco, epiphytic on Sargassum stipe, NE side of cove, 20 Mar 1974, JN–5206 (GMS), (leg. N. P. Yensen). Baja California: Isla Willard, Bahía San Luis Gonzaga, littoral rocks, 20 Apr 1974, JN–5400 (MEXU, US), (leg. JN and KB). Islas de la Cintura: 3 m depth, E end of Isla Mejía, Puerto Refugio, 23 Apr 1974, JN–5681 (AHFH), leg. JN and KB). Isla Angel de la Guarda, low littoral rocks, NE shore of Puerto Refugio, 23 Apr 1974, JN–5787 (MICH, US).

Colpomenia sinuosa (Mertens ex Roth) Derbès et Solier

Ulva sinuosa Mertens ex Roth, 1806:327, pl. 12: figs. a–c.

Colpomenia sinuosa (Mertens ex Roth) Derbès et Solier, 1851:95; Derbès and Solier, 1856:11, pl. 22: figs. 18–20; Saunders, 1898:164, pl. 32: figs. 7, 8; Setchell and Gardner, 1925:539, 541, pl. 45: figs. 82–86; Dawson, 1944:232; Dawson, 1951:52; Dawson, 1959a:19; Dawson et al., 1960a:30, pl. 9: fig. 1, 2; Dawson, 1962b:199, fig. 77; Dawson, 1966a:10; Earle, 1972:85; Clayton, 1975: 187, tbl. 1, figs. 5–7, 12, 13; Abbott and Hollenberg, 1976:204, fig. 168; Wynne and Norris, 1976:2, figs. 1, 2a,b, 11a; L. Aguilar-Rosas, 1982:31; Parsons, 1982:291, figs. 2, 3, 11, 12; Schnetter and Bula Meyer, 1982:65, pl. 10: fig. N; Stewart and Stewart, 1984:141; L. Aguilar-Rosas et al., 1985:125; Huerta-Múzquiz and Mendoza-González, 1985:46; Mendoza-González and Mateo-Cid, 1985:24; Sánchez-Rodríguez et al., 1989:40; Santelices, 1989:280, pl. FF: fig. 3; R. Aguilar-Rosas et al., 1990:123; Martínez-Lozano et al., 1991:23; Ramírez and Rojas V., 1991:16, figs. 2, 6; Rocha-Ramírez and Siqueiros-Beltrones, 1991:24; Stewart, 1991:44; Mateo-Cid et al., 1993:50; R. Aguilar-Rosas and M. Aguilar-Rosas, 1994:518; Mendoza-González et al., 1994:110; González-González et al., 1996:143; Pacheco-Ruíz and Zertuche-González, 1996b:171; Hoffmann and Santelices, 1997:156, fig. 39; Yoshida, 1998:305, fig. 2-21 H; Mateo-Cid et al., 2000a:68; Cruz-Ayala et al., 2001:190; Abbott and Huisman, 2004:179, fig. 67A,B; R. Aguilar-Rosas et al., 2005b:34; Hernández-Herrera et al., 2005:146; Mateo-Cid et al., 2006:49, 58; Servière-Zaragoza et al., 2007:8; Pacheco-Ruíz et al., 2008:204; Pedroche et al., 2008:66.

Algae globose or vesicle-like, hollow, golden- to medium-brown, flaccid and slippery, up to 14 cm in diameter; 200–500 µm thick; becoming compressed, irregularly convoluted and expanded; attached by rhizoids on lower surface. Medulla and subcortex of 4–6 layers of

large, irregularly shaped cells; gradually becoming smaller toward outer surface layer of small cuboidal cells.

Unilocular sporangia unknown. Plurilocular sporangia uniseriate (to partially biseriate), up to 40 µm long, in sori covered with a cuticle, clustered often around an invaginated tuft of hairs. Paraphyses usually longer than plurilocular sporangia, to 55 µm long.

HABITAT. On rocks and tidal platforms or epiphytic on various algae; low intertidal to shallow subtidal.

DISTRIBUTION. Gulf of California: Puerto Peñasco to Bahía Agua Verde; Bahía de La Paz to Cabo San Lucas. Pacific coast: southern California to Baja California Sur; Sinaloa to Jalisco; Isla Clarión (Islas Revillagigedo); Hawaiian Islands; Panama; Colombia; Chile.

TYPE LOCALITY. “Location uncertain” (Parsons, 1982); given as near Cádiz, Spain (Silva et al., 1996a).

Colpomenia sinuosa, commonly named the oyster thief or sinuous ballweed, is a brown algae species in the genus Colpomenia. It is the type species of its genus and is widespread in tropical to temperate zones around the world.

It is superficially similar to the Colpomenia peregrina species and in older texts, such as Knight and Parke (1931), C. peregrina is referred to as C. sinuosa.

Colpomenia sinuosa contains the C6-C4-C6 phenolic compound colpol.