Article

We report Asparagopsis taxiformis from Trapani, on the western coast or Sicily, where gametophytes have been collected for the first time in May 2000. This is the first record of gamelophytes from Italy and the second record from the western Mediterranean, the previous one being from the Balearic lslands. Yet, the earliest Mediterranean record of sporophytes or Asparagopsis (that could represent this species of A. armata) dates back to 1883 from the Island of Elba. Thc Sicilian gametophytes were dioecious, in agreement with some authors, differing from plants recorded in New Zealand and Australia that have been consistently reported to be monoecious. Whether the gametophytes from Trapani represent a recent introduction or are the product of meiosis in loca l populations of Falkenbergia is unknown.