2008 Volume 83 Issue 3 Pages 165-176
The systematics of Laminaria japonica J. E. Areschoug, L. religiosa Miyabe, L. ochotensis Miyabe and L. diabolica Miyabe, which are similar morphologically and restricted to the coastline of northern Japan, was re-examined. From the morphological observations, it was concluded that the discrimination of the four species based on their morphological features was problematic. The results of crossbreeding experiments and molecular phylogenetic analyses suggest that these species are not genetically isolated. Consequently, we concluded that these four species should be revised as four varieties of one species: L. japonica J. E. Areschoug var. japonica, var. religiosa, var. ochotensis and var. diabolica.
