The Morphology of Griffithsia tomo-yamadae Okamura (Ceramiaceae, Rhodophyta): a Little-Known Species from the Northeast Pacific

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Abstract
The ceramiaceous red alga Griffithsia tomo-yamadae was described from the Pacific side of Honshu, Japan by Okamura in 1936, based on vegetative and tetrasporangial material. Unreported since its original description, the species has recently been found growing in abundance at 1–2 m depths below lowest tide levels at Geojedo Island off the southeastern coast of Korea. Our detailed observations confirm the validity of G. tomo-yamadae as a species characterized by complanate, flabellate thalli; pseudodi-/trichotomous branching; nodal tetrasporangial fascicles that form an inner ring of bearing cells surrounded by 8–9 involucral branches, consisting of single basal cell and two terminal cells; naked spermatangial fascicles; and cystocarps surrounded by five involucral branches that originate from the hypogenous cell. Sexual reproductive structures are described for the first time and conform to previous reports of the genus.