Seaweeds of the South African South Coast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Order Bryopsidales

Family Codiaceae

Codium extricatum P.C. Silva 1959: 145-147

Thallus dark green, erect, firm, up to 50 cm tall, dichotomously branched up to 14 times, branches often flattened in lower thallus, terete above, up to 8 mm in diameter tapering to 1.5-2 mm at apices. Utricles subcylindrical to club-shaped, 450-880 µm long, 125-280 (-325) µm diameter, apices truncate or slightly rounded, utricle wall at apex often markedly thickened. Hairs or hair-scars common, one to several per utricle, disposed in zone 40-100 µm below apex. Gametangia lanceolate-ovoid, 240-330 µm long, 1-3 per utricle, each on short pedicel arising near middle of utricle.

Collections, ecology and regional distribution

Found in rock pools, lower eulittoral and sublittoral fringe, from Cape Agulhas to Umpangazi (near Cape St Lucia), KZN (22-55).

World distribution

Disjunct distribution: South Africa, Kenya, Lord Howe Island (NZ) Queensland, Australia, and Norfolk Island (Guiry in Guiry & Guiry 2014).

Type locality: Qolora River mouth, Eastern Cape (Silva 1959).

 

Codium extricatum, habit

 Codium extricatum, utricle showing thick wall at apex

 Codium extricatum, utricle with gametangium

 

References

Guiry M.D. in Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 2014. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org; searched on 02 July 2014.

Silva, P.C. (1959). The genus Codium (Chlorophyta) in South Africa. Journal of South African Botany 25: 101-165, 22 figs, Plates II-XVI.

 

Cite this record as:

Anderson RJ, Stegenga H, Bolton JJ. 2016. Seaweeds of the South African South Coast.
World Wide Web electronic publication, University of Cape Town, http://southafrseaweeds.uct.ac.za; Accessed on 19 April 2024.