SEAWEEDS OF THE RIA-DE-A-CORUNA (NW IBERIAN PENINSULA, SPAIN)

A catalogue of the benthic algae of the Ria de A Coruna (NW Iberian Pe ninsula) is presented. In all, 339 specific and infraspecific taxa wer e identified, including 26 Cyanophyta, 193 Rhodophyta, 71 Phaeophyta, 2 Xanthophyta, and 47 Chlorophyta. For each specific and infraspecific taxon, we report littoral level, wave exposure, substratum and season s of collecting. Many taxa are of biogeographical interest. Some have recently been recorded for the first time from the Iberian Peninsula o r at least Galicia. In this paper, the following are newly recorded fr om the Iberian Peninsula: Gelidioxolax margaritoides, Heterosiphonica crispella var. laxa, Lomentaria hakodatensis and Vaucheria erythrospor a. In addition the following are newly recorded from Galicia: Codiolum petrocelidis stadium, Desmarestia dresnayi, Entocladia tenuis, Microc oleus wuitneri, Phyllophora sicula, Pterosiphonia ardreana, Solieria c hordalis and Ulva scandinavica. We propose the names Colaconema caespi tosum (J. Agardh) comb. nov. and Chondracanthus teedii var. lustitanic us (Mesquita Rodrigues) comb. nov. The number of specific and infraspe cific taxa in the Ria de A Coruna is high relative to the small size o f the area. This species richness is a consequence of the diversity of habitats found in such topographically complex estuaries ('rias'). Ab out 45% of the species recorded for the warm-temperate NE Atlantic Oce an were found in the surveyed area.