Fucus linearifolius Turner, 1808–1809: 105–106, pl. 111 (type locality: "western coast of New Holland'' [probably King George Sound, Western Australia fide Womersley, 1987: 441]).
Sargassum linearifolium (Turner) C. Agardh, 1820a: 24.—C. Agardh, 1824: 302.— De Toni, 1895b: 11.— Womersley, 1987: 440–441.— Huisman & Walker, 1990: 384.— Kendrick, 1993: 460.
Taxonomic synonym:
Sargassum merrifieldiae J. Agardh, 1889: 115–116, pl. XXX: figs. 13–17 (`merrifieldii') (lectotype locality: Adelaide, South Australia fide Womersley, 1987: 441).—Børgesen, 1941: 71–72, pl. VII.— Chauhan & Thivy, 1966: 69–70, figs. 1–14.— Untawale, Dhargalkar, & Agadi, 1983: [23].— Padmini Sreenivasa Rao, Sreenivasa Rao, & Karmarkar, 1986a: 6–8.— Mshigeni & D. Chapman, 1987: 221.— Padmini Sreenivasa Rao, Sreenivasa Rao, & Karmarkar, 1988a: 295.— Padmini Sreenivasa Rao, 1989a: 23, table 3.— Padmini Sreenivasa Rao, Sreenivasa Rao, & Karmarkar, 1991: table 3.
INDIAN OCEAN DISTRIBUTION: Australia, India, Mauritius.
Note: Sargassum merrifieldiae is included as a synonym on the authority of Womersley (1987: 440–441), who stated that the Chauhan & Thivy record of that species is probably based on a misidentification.