Marine Algal Flora of French PolynesiaI. Phaeophyceae (Ochrophyta, brown algae)

This first paper in a monographic series on the marine algae of French Polynesia attempts to give a detailed coverage of the species of Phaeophyceae occurring in these islands. A total of 31 taxa are presented. Among these, seven represent new records for French Polynesia. The flora has affinities with neighbouring localities such as the Cook Islands, Hawai'i, Fiji, and Lord Howe Island, and there are taxa represented from both tropical and sub-tropical to temperate regions owing to the wide latitudinal distribution of the islands in French Polynesia, ranging from below the equator to well below the Tropic of Capricorn. New published records for French Polynesia include Cladosiphon novae-caledoniae, Cutleria irregularis, C. mollis, Hydroclathrus tumulis, Padina melemele, Sargassum cf. S. echinocarpum and Stypopodium australasicum, all of which (excepted for Sargassum cf. S. echinocarpum) are restricted to the cooler waters of the southern Austral Islands (Rapa, Marotiri).