Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis is a widely reported species of marine red algae, with records fromaround the world. Particularly in Mexico, it has been recorded along the coastsof the Gulf of Mexico and the Mexican Caribbean as well as the Tropical MexicanPacific; so, its current distribution on the Mexican coasts is disjunct. Fromits molecular characterization with COI-5P and rbcL sequences of specimens collected at sites in Mexico where thisspecies has been most frequently recorded, our aim was to re-evaluate thecurrent distribution of Gp. lemaneiformis on the Mexican coasts anddiscuss the taxonomic implications. Phylogenetic analysis, supported by DNAspecies delimitation methods, genetic distances and morphological comparisons,showed that the current disjunct distribution of Gp. lemaniformis inMexico is a consequence of taxonomic misidentifications. From our results, Gp.lemaneiformis is the only species of the genus with a distribution in theTropical Mexican Pacific, whereas Gp. tenuifrons is the only specieswith a distribution in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mexican Caribbean. Also, wepropose that Gp. cata-luziana is to be merged with Gp. tenuifrons,while Gp. costarisensis is to be merged with Gp. lemaneiformis.
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