NO. 1 TAYLOR: PACIFIC MARINE ALGAE 33 



There are several points of interest in the algal flora of this district. 

 While essentially tropical, and so differing from the flora of Peru just to 

 the south, certain characteristic groups commonly found in other tropical 

 areas are missing. Of the Chlorophyceae one may mention the absence 

 of Udotea and Avrainvillea, the poor representation of Dasycladaceae, 

 Valoniaceae, and Caulerpaceae. However, the absence of extensive coral 

 reef formations may help account for this. In the Phaeophyceae we note 

 the absence of Hydroclathrus and Turbinaria. In the Rhodophyceae there 

 is more difference between the genera found in different parts of the 

 world, but the nearly ubiquitous Hypnea musciformis, Gelidiopsis rigida, 

 Laurencia papulosa, and L. obtiisa are missing, as are Eucheuma, Wran- 

 gelia, and Acanthophora, although the former genus does occur in the 

 Gulf of California, close outside our range. It is doubtful that the Acro- 

 chaetia are as varied as on the Caribbean side: few were seen; Liagoras 

 are scarce and fewer, and there are few species of Gracilaria, Hypnea, 

 Dasya, Laurencia, and Polysiphonia. 



There is no compensating richness in the Chlorophyceae. In the 

 Phaeophyceae the Dictyotaceae are quite richly varied, and the Sargassa 

 likewise, though not more so than in the Orient. The Rhodophyceae seem 

 to have a particularly good variety of coralline algae (remembering that 

 the crustose Lithothamnieae are here omitted) ; the Delesseriaceae are 

 proportionately numerous. 



If one may speculate as to what areas now most urgently need further 

 study (recognizing that all the coast south of California is but frag- 

 mentarily surveyed), one may first suggest that the adjacent coasts of 

 Ecuador and northern Peru need further attention, for until this is given 

 the degree of specialization of the Galapagos Is. flora cannot be accurately 

 stated. As Howe (1914) indicates, Peru although in the south tropical 

 zone does not show a characteristically tropical marine flora, and, though 

 the Galapagos Is. are barely 2° of latitude above the Peruvian border, 

 they do not show any very great similarity in flora. At the other end, the 

 Sinaloa- Jalisco coast near the Gulf of California, and Baja California 

 near its southern end, must be carefully studied to define the limits of 

 those algae supposed to be endemic to the Gulf, and to note how far 

 north into it the outer-coast species penetrate. The general position and 

 land vegetation suggest that Cocos Island might well be a good territory 

 in which to search for some of the unexpectedly missing tropical genera. 

 Finally, more detailed studies of the coast of Panama are called for, be- 

 cause the apparent poverty of the marine algal vegetation there is probably 

 a misconception, and the study of coves and rocky points will probably 



