Occurrence of Phyllariopsis brevipes (C. Agardh) E.C. Henry & G.R. South 1987 in the Gulf of Naples

ABSTRACT The first record of the kelp species Phyllariopsis brevipes in the Campania Region (Tyrrhenian Sea, South Italy) is here reported. The species has been observed in October 2021 in four sites along Sorrento Peninsula and Capri Island coast during scuba diving surveys. P. brevipes grew on living thalli of crustose coralline algae from 32 up to 55 m depth, occasionally forming dense aggregations with a maximum cover of about 0.2 m2. The DNA barcoding analysis on the basis of the cox1 gene supported the identification, with 98.36% of similarity between the sample collected in this study (NCBI accession number: PP622796) and a sequence obtained from a specimen from Provence, Mediterranean France (NCBI accession number: GQ368264). The study area can be considered a stepping stone for the species dispersion. The occurrence of P. brevipes can be related to upwelling and good water quality and the monitoring of its health status might be a sentinel of environmental changes.