A brown alga with very peculiar characters, Dictyota hauckiana (Dictyotaceae), was collected from the Arabian Sea coast at Karachi, Pakistan, during March 2007–April 2010 and investigated for its morphology, anatomy, and reproductive structures. In the sampled specimens, proliferations were observed to arise from both margins; in some cases, they were present on one margin only and others completely lack or contain a few of them, at the margin a single marginal cell was present in the upper part, whereas a group of 5–6 marginal cells constitutes the basal portion, near the margin or at some places in the basal part cortical cells were 2–3 layers including the epidermis. A detailed study of the reproductive structures was carried out for the first time.
Keywords: Phaeophycota, Dictyota, marine aglae, anatomy, morphology, reproduction, Pakistan
Full text: PDF 2.98M