A new record of brown algae, Papenfussiella densa from Dok-do, Korea

Papenfussiella densa was described as Papenfussiella kuromo f. densa from Japan by Inagaki in 1958. P. densa has been recognized as an endemic and independent species based on the molecular analyses of type material without detailed morphological observations. In this study, Papenfussiella densa is reported as a new record from Dok-do, South Korea, based on morphological and molecular analyses. Papenfussiella densa is mainly characterized as having narrow, branched, slimy, and tomentose thalli with branchlets, partially hollow in the medulla of the middle part. The molecular analyses of the chloroplast rbc L-rbc S DNA sequence of the Papenfussiella densa sample from Korea revealed that it matched that of P. densa from Japan and was nested in the clade of Papenfussiella. There was only a 0.02% gene sequence divergence between the Korean and Japanese samples. We report P. densa as a new record from Korea and add this species to the list of Korean macroalgal flora.