Morpholoy, anatomy and morphological diversity of Hypnea pannosa in the Persian Gulf and Oman sea

Hypnea Lamouroux is one of the red algae that planted in many of countries due to produce of carrageenan. There are different species of this genus in subtidal zones of warm water. The genus includes about 53 species in worldwide that approximately 9 species have been reported from Iran. Species of this genus are growing on rocks, stones, shells or epiphytic with other algae. In this study morphology, anatomy and morphological diversity of H. pannosa J. Agardh has been conducted for the first time in Iran. In this study 15 individuals from 7 populations were investigated. Thirteen different qualitative and quantitative characteristics were measured and standardized and were used in analysis. Differences in the morphology of the studied populations were observed, So that populations of Oman sea (Tis and Remin) separated from the Persian Gulf (Qeshm and Bandar Lenge) by the characteristics of color, abundance of lateral branches and number of medullary cell layers.