The identity of Aspidophora Montagne (Delesseriaceae, Rhodophyta)

The original collection of Aspidophora gaudichaudii Montague was located in the Herbarium of the Laboratoire de Cryptogamie, Museum National d'Histoir e Naturelle (PC), and examined. An earlier report that the peltate, shield- like structures scattered over the lower surface of the blade surface were merely multicellular peglike rhizoidal attachments and not cystocarps was c onfirmed. The even earlier described Aglaophyllum peltatum Montague has bee n found to be the same as Aspidophora gaudichaudii. Morphological evidence points to the identity of both Aspidophora gaudichaudii and Aglacphyllum pe ltatum with Cryptopleura corallinarum (Nott) Gardner. Because the name Agla ophyllum peltatum has priority, the binomial Cryptopleura peltata (Montagne ) M. J. Wynne comb. nov. is proposed. (C) 2001 Adac/Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.