Sargassum natans (Linnaeus) Gaillon
Publication details
Sargassum natans (Linnaeus) Gaillon 1828: 355
Original publication: Gaillon, B. (1828). Résumé méthodique des classifications des Thalassiophytes. Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles [Levrault] 53: 350-406, Tables 1-3.
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Type species
The type species (holotype) of the genus Sargassum is Sargassum bacciferum (Turner) C.Agardh.
Status of name
This name is of an entity that is currently accepted taxonomically.
Basionym
Fucus natans Linnaeus
Type information
Lectotype locality: “Indica” (probably Jamaica) (Silva, Basson & Moe 1996: 687). Notes: Silva et al. (1996) recommend consulting Børgesen (1914a: 9) for more information on the lectotype locality of this species.
Origin of species name
Participle (Latin), swimming, floating on or under the surface of the water (Stearn 1973).
Homotypic Synonym(s)
Fucus natans Linnaeus 1753
Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Fucus sargasso S.G.Gmelin 1768
Fucus baccifer Turner 1802
Sargassum bacciferum (Turner) C.Agardh 1820
General environment
This is a marine species.
Detailed distribution with sources
(as Fucus natans Linnaeus)
Atlantic Islands: Canary Islands (Price, John & Lawson 1978).
(as Sargassum bacciferum (Turner) C.Agardh)
Europe: Spain (Conde & Seoane 1982).
Atlantic Islands: Canary Islands (Price, John & Lawson 1978), Salvage Islands (Price, John & Lawson 1978).
Africa: Gabon (Price, John & Lawson 1978), Mauritius (Børgesen 1941).
South-east Asia: Indonesia (Phillips 1995), Vietnam (Pham-Hoàng 1969).
Australia and New Zealand: Queensland (Lewis 1985).
(as Sargassum natans (Linnaeus) Gaillon)
Europe: France (Dizerbo & Herpe 2007 
), Portugal (De Mesquita Rodrigues 1963, Ardré 1970).
Atlantic Islands: Azores (Neto 1994 ), Bermuda (Taylor 1960), Canary Islands (Price, John & Lawson 1978, Gil-Rodríguez & Afonso-Carrillo 1980, Haroun et al. 2002, Gil-Rodríguez et al. 2003, John et al. 2004), Cape Verde Islands (Price, John & Lawson 1978, John et al. 2004, Prud'homme van Reine, Haroun & Kostermans 2005), Madeira (Levring 1974, Neto, Cravo & Haroun 2001 , John et al. 2004), Salvage Islands (Audiffred & Weisscher 1984, John et al. 2004).
North America: Florida (Taylor 1957, Taylor 1960, Littler, Littler & Hanisak 2008), Louisiana (Taylor 1960), Maritime Provinces (Taylor 1957), Massachusetts (Taylor 1957), Mexico (Taylor 1960), Newfoundland (Taylor 1957), North Carolina (Taylor 1960, Schneider & Searles 1991), Texas (Taylor 1960, Wynne 2009), Virginia (Humm 1979).
Central America: Belize (Taylor 1960).
Caribbean Islands: Alabama (Taylor 1960), Bahamas (Taylor 1960), Barbados (Taylor 1960, Taylor 1969), Caicos Islands (Taylor 1960), Caribbean (Littler & Littler 2000), Cuba (Taylor 1960, Suárez 2005), Hispaniola (Taylor 1960), Jamaica (Taylor 1960), Lesser Antilles (Taylor 1960, Taylor 1969).
South America: Brazil (Taylor 1930, Taylor 1960).
Africa: Gabon (John et al. 2004), Mauritius (Silva, Basson & Moe 1996).
South-west Asia: India (Silva, Basson & Moe 1996, Sahoo et al. 2001), Kuwait (Silva, Basson & Moe 1996), Sri Lanka (Silva, Basson & Moe 1996).
South-east Asia: Indonesia (Silva, Basson & Moe 1996), Philippines (Silva, Meñez & Moe 1987, Phillips 1995).
Australia and New Zealand: Queensland (Phillips 1997, Phillips 2002).
Taxonomic notes
According to Silva et al. (1996) the following taxa apparently lie within the circumspection of this species but have not yet been formally transferred: Sargassum bacciferum forma capillifolium Kützing and Sargassum bacciferum var. spinuligerum Kützing.
Nomenclatural notes
Pelagic species (Guiry, pers. comm.). See Silva, Basson & Moe (1996) for details of the nomenclautral history of this entity.
Key references
Dawes, C.J. & Mathieson, A.C. (2008). The seaweeds of Florida. pp. [i]- viii, [1]-591, [592], pls I-LI. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida.
SAG Cultures
No records have been found on the SAG site.
NCBI Nucleotide Sequences
Created: 04 August 1996 by M.D. Guiry
Verified by: 17 January 2008 by M.D. Guiry
Accesses: This record has been accessed by users 2050 times since it was created.
References
(Please note: only references with the binomials in the title are included. The information is from the Literature database.)
Kim, C. S. (1972). The effects of dietary Sargassum natans and Ascophyllum nodosum on Salmonella gallinarum infection in chicks. Proceedings of the International Seaweed Symposium 7: 573-574.
Moreira, L. & Suárez, A.M. (2002). Estudio del género Sargassum C. Agardh, 1820 (Phaeophyta, Fucales, Sargassaceae) en aguas cubanas. 2. Variaciones morfológicas de Sargassum natans (Linnaeus) Meyer en dos localidades. Rev. Invest. Mar. 23(1): 55-58.
Moreira, L. & Suárez, A.M. (2002). Estudio del género Sargassum C. Agardh, 1820 (Phaeophyta, Fucales, Sargassaceae) en aguas cubanas. 4. Reproducción sexual en Sargassum natans (Linnaeus) Meyer y S. fluitans Børgesen. Rev. Invest. Mar. 23(1): 63-65.
Niermann, U. (1986). Distribution of Sargassum natans and some of its epibionts in the Sargasso Sea. Helgoländer Meeresuntersuchungen 40: 343-353.
Schofield, O., Evens, T.J. & Millie, D.F. (1998). Photosystem II quantum yields and xanthophyll-cycle pigments of the macroalgae, Sargassum natans (Phaeophyceae): responses under natural sunlight. Journal of Phycology 34: 104-112, 5 figs.
Sieburth, J.M. & Conover, J.T. (1966). Antifouling in Sargassum natans : Re-recognition of tannin activity. Proceedings of the International Seaweed Symposium 5: 207 only.
