Gracilaria spicifera Suhr, 1834: 731–732, pl. II: fig. 14 (type locality: Algoa Bay, Cape Province, South Africa).—Drège, 1843: 157.— Krauss, 1846: 210–211.
Hypnophycus spicifer (Suhr) Kützing, 1843b: 405.
Hypnea spicifera (Suhr) Harvey in J. Agardh, 1847: 14.—Kützing, 1849: 760.— J. Agardh, 1851 [1851–1863]: 445–446.— Hohenacker, 1854 [1852–1862]: no. 193 (`spicigera').— Grunow, 1867: 79.— Kützing, 1868: 10, pl. 29: figs. a–d.— Dickie, 1874b: 194.— J. Agardh, 1876: 562.— Barton, 1893: 173.— De Toni, 1900: 475.— Mazza, 1907 [1905–1918]: 150–151.— Delf & Michell, 1921: 108.— Børgesen, 1934a: 18.— Børgesen, 1934b: 37.— Jadin, 1935: 166 (`spicigera').— Stephenson, Stephenson, & du Toit, 1937: 363, 373.— Eyre, Broekhuysen, & Crichton, 1938: 87–88, 92, 100, 102, 107, pl. IX.— Eyre & Stephenson, 1938: 28, 32.— Isaac, 1938: 21, 22.— Stephenson, Stephenson, & Bright, 1938: 4, 12.— Stephenson, 1939: 534.— Papenfuss, 1943a: 86.— Stephenson, 1944: 300, 302, 314, 351.— Stephenson, 1947: 306.— Isaac, 1953: 66.— Isaac & Hewitt, 1953a: 73–84, 6 figs. (s.n.), pls. XVI, XVII.— Isaac & Hewitt, 1953b: 14–15.— Isaac & Simons, 1954: 123.— Hewitt, 1960: 212–221, figs. 24–35, pls. 30–32.— S. Dixit, 1966: 15.— Desikachary, 1967: 10.— Seagrief, 1967: 100, pl. [42].— Simons, 1969: 258, fig. (s.n.).— Jackson, 1976: 18, 20, 33.— Seagrief, 1977: 74, 90.— Simons, 1977: 23, 53, figs. 45, 158.— Brown & Jarman, 1978: 1255, 1256, 1257, 1259.— Beckley, 1979: 171.— Beckley & McLachlan, 1979: 179, figs. 6, 7.— Beckley & McLachlan, 1980: tables 2, 3.— Farghaly, 1980: 163.— Joubert & Hanekom, 1980: 263, table 1, appendices 1, 3.— Seagrief, 1980: 26, fig. on pl. 9.— Farnham & Lambert, 1981: 135.— Bolton, 1986: 253.— Lambert & Steinke, 1986a: 54.— Lambert & Steinke, 1986b: 211.— Bolton & Stegenga, 1987: 167, 175.— Seagrief, 1988: 36, 58, fig. 5:11.— Stegenga, 1988: 383.— R. Anderson, Simons, & Jarman, 1989: 289–290.— R. Anderson & Stegenga, 1989: 303.— Steinke, Mann, & Seetal, 1989: 320–323, figs. 1, 2.— Bolton & Stegenga, 1990: 234, 237.— R. Anderson et al., 1991: 61.— van Zyl & Robertson, 1991: 81.— Farrell, Critchley, & Aken, 1993: 153.— Branch et al., 1994: 332, pl. 158.6.— Farrell et al., 1994: 280.— Mshigeni & D. Chapman, 1994: 257.
Taxonomic synonyms:
Sphaerococcus musciformis (Wulfen) C. Agardh var. armatus C. Agardh, 1822 [1822–1823]: 328 (type locality: Cape of Good Hope, South Africa).
Hypnea armata (C. Agardh) J. Agardh, 1851 [1851–1863]: 444, nom. illeg.—Brown & Jarman, 1978: 1256.
Hypnea harveyi Kützing, 1849: 760 (type locality: Cape of Good Hope, South Africa).—Børgesen, 1943: 55–56, figs. 25, 26.— T. Rao & V. Rao, 1963: 116, table I.— Isaac, 1967: 80.— Lawson, 1980: 51.— Mshigeni & D. Chapman, 1994: 255.
INDIAN OCEAN DISTRIBUTION: India, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Pakistan, Réunion, South Africa.
Note: Hypnea harveyi is included as a synonym on the authority of J. Agardh (1851 [1851–1863]: 445) and Papenfuss (notes). Hypnea armata was added to the synonymy by Papenfuss (1943a: 86). Incidentally, this name is a later homonym of Hypnea armata (C. Agardh) J. Agardh (1842: 149) (Gracilaria armata (C. Agardh) Greville (q.v.)).