| In late 2001 and early 2002, a dichotomous species of Codium appeared colonizing the low intertidal and shallow subtidal bottoms of Caldera Bay, northern Chile (27° 03 S, 70° 51 W). Due to the ecological and economic impact the species is having in Caldera Bay and its potential spread along the Chilean coastline, we studied the taxonomic identity of the species and examined its relationships with other dichotomous species of Codium reported for temperate Pacific South America. Morphological analyses suggest that the seaweeds from Caldera Bay belong to Codium fragile (Suringar) Hariot. Not only is there strong agreement in internal and external morphological characters, but among all the species reported for Peru and Chile, this is the only one exhibiting... |
