The Pterocladiaceae is a small
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
of
red algae
Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta also comprises one of the largest phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 currently recognized species with taxonomic revisions ongoing. The majority ...
containing 2 genera of
agarophytes.
They are found growing on the coast of Portugal, South Africa, India, Japan, Mexico, Chile and New Zealand.
[Richard Koplik, Karel Cejpek and Jan Velisek ]
From the
Gelidiales order, ''Gelidium'' and ''Pterocladia'' , are two of the most widespread genera (which have been often confused for each other) of the Gelidiaceae family. They are separated only by basic features of
cystocarps (fruiting structures). The genus ''Pterocladiella'' was later established to segregate from ''Pterocladia'' those species with distinct carposporophyte developmental characters (Santelices and Hommersand 1997).
Molecular analyses of taxa within the Gelidiales have identified four major lineages equivalent to ''Gelidiella'', ''Pterocladia'' and ''Pterocladiella'' as sister taxa, and a fourth large clade including species of ''Acanthopeltis'', ''Gelidium'', ''Ptilophora'', ''Porphyroglossum'' and ''Capreolia'' (Freshwater et al. 1995, Bailey and Freshwater 1997, Freshwater and Bailey 1998, Shimada et al. 1999).
So the family of ''Pterocladiaceae'' was derived in 2006 to hold the genera of ''Pterocladia'' and ''Pterocladiella''.
Type genus
In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name.
Zoological nomenclature
According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal f ...
is ''Pterocladia''
Taxonomy
The family name of ''Pterocladiaceae'' is derived from the genus ''Pterocladia'', which is derived from the Greek words ''pteron'' meaning wing and ''clados'' meaning branch.
Genera
As accepted by
GBIF
The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from around the ...
;
*''
Pterocladia''
J.Agardh, 1851 (8)
*''
Pterocladiella''
B.Santelices & M.H.Hommersand, 1997 (14)
Figures in brackets are approx. how many species per genus.
[
]
Uses
Agar
Agar ( or ), or agar-agar, is a jelly-like substance consisting of polysaccharides obtained from the cell walls of some species of red algae, primarily from ogonori (''Gracilaria'') and "tengusa" (''Gelidiaceae''). As found in nature, agar is ...
can be derived from many types of red seaweeds, including those from families such as ''Gelidiaceae
The Gelidiaceae is a small family of red algae containing eight genera. Many species of this algae are used to make agar.
Uses
Agar can be derived from many types of red seaweeds, including those from families such as ''Gelidiaceaae'', ''Gracila ...
'', ''Gracilariaceae
The Gracilariaceae is a small family of red algae containing several genera of agarophytes.
It has a world-wide distribution. 24 species are found in China, and 6 species are found in Great Britain and Ireland. It is found in Australia and Chile ...
'', '' Gelidiellaceae'' and ''Pterocladiaceae'' (including ''Pterocladiella'',). It is a polysaccharide
Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with wa ...
located in the inner part of the red algal cell wall. It is used in food material, medicines, cosmetics, therapeutic and biotechnology industries.[Mohammed Kuddus and Roohi (editors) ]
References
Other sources
* Kamiya, M., Lindstrom, S.C., Nakayama, T., Yokoyama, A., Lin, S.-M., Guiry, M.D., Gurgel, F.D.G., Huisman, J.M., Kitayama, T., Suzuki, M., Cho, T.O. & Frey, W. 2017. Rhodophyta. In: Syllabus of Plant Families, 13th ed. Part 2/2: Photoautotrophic eukaryotic Algae. (Frey, W. Eds), pp. €“xii, €“171. Stuttgart: Borntraeger Science Publishers. ISBN 978-3-443-01094-2.
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Red algae families
Edible algae