Halophila minor (Zoll.) den Hartog is reported as a new record of Halophila species in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), in addition to the two known species H. ovalis and H. beccarii. This also represents the first locality of the species in continental China besides the reported localities in Hainan and Nansha Islands. The Halophila species have a peculiar taxonomic history in China, especially in the Hong Kong SAR where the first record dated back to 1856 (from Kowloon Bay). Recently there has been clear scientific evidence to distinguish H. minor from H. ovata (the latter has been confirmed not occurring in the Hong Kong SAR in this report), though the former was once considered conspecific to the latter. The worldwide distribution and taxonomy of Halophila have recently been made clear and thus permitting correct identifications of the species. Seagrasses are of conservation concerns, as the coastal environment of the Hong Kong SAR has been subject to the threat of rapid infrastructure development.%报道小喜盐草Halophila minor (Zoll.) den Hartog在香港的首次记录, 同时也是除沿海岛屿(海南及南沙群岛)以外中国大陆的首次记录.喜盐草属在中国最早的记录可追溯至1856年(香港九龙湾), 包括喜盐草H. ovalis及贝克喜盐草H. beccarii在内, 目前已知3种喜盐草属植物分布香港.尽管从前小喜盐草及圆叶喜盐草H. ovata曾作同种处理, 现已有最新证据清楚区别这两种喜盐草(本文证实圆叶喜盐草不产香港).因本属的世界分布及分类最近已被全面修订, 使得准确鉴别各种喜盐草成为可能.香港的海岸面对高速发展, 海草的保育尤需关注.
展开▼
