The first confirmed records of Lomentaria, (Lomentariaceae, Rhodophyceae) in South Africa, with a description of L. amplexans sp. nov.

Lomentaria Lyngbye commonly occurs on many temperate, tropical and sub-tropical shores. It has not been previously recorded with certainty in South Africa, however, and the discovery of two species in Natal, one of which is new, is of particular interest. The Natalian new species has epiphytic and mostly prostrate, tightly adherant segmented thalli that produce upright hamate branches. The tendrils attach to adjacent branches of larger algae, the hamate terminal segments enlarging and initiating a new prostrate thallus. Colonies of the epiphyte tightly bind thalli of larger algae together. The second species is very small and segmented only at the bases of branches. Its size and structure suggest that it is L. corallicola, a species previously known in the Iranian Gulf and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef