Twenty marine benthic algae new to South Africa, with emphasis on the flora of Kwazulu-Natal

A total of 20 new records of benthic marine algae has been added to the flora of South Africa, consisting of 6 taxa of Phaeophyta and 14 Rhodophyta. Most species have a pantropical or Indo-Pacific distribution and are generally known from several localities in the Indian Ocean (e.g. Asteronema breviarticulatum, Ceramium cingulatum, Dictyota cervicornis, D. ciliolata, Euptilota fergusonii, Galaxaura rugosa, Halymenia durvillei, Phacelocarpus tristichus). Others are only known from a limited number of reports scattered within the Indo-Pacific region (Balliella crouanioides, Gibsmithia hawaiiensis, Predaea weldii, Hypoglossum minimum), possibly due to their subtidal habitat or small size. Apart from those algae with a large distribution range, some species show a distinctive southern Australian - South African distribution pattern (Carpopeltis phyllophora, Plocamium mertensii). Only Digeneopsis subopaca, originally described from Mozambique, appears to represent a local endemic species.