Seaweeds of the South African South Coast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Order Bryopsidales

Family Codiaceae

Codium prostratum Levring 1938: 16-17

Thallus dark green, creeping (repent) and rarely erect, subdichotomously branching, up to 16 cm across, branches terete or slightly compressed, overlapping, 3-9 mm thick. Utricles subcylindrical or slightly club-shaped, often tapering towards the base, 720-1310 µm long; apices truncate to slightly rounded. Hairs or hair-scars abundant, 1-9 per utricle, borne just below apex. Gametangia usually subcylindrical, or lanceolate-ovoid, 235-365 µm long, 1-3 per utricle, on pedicles, above middle of utricles.

Collections, ecology and regional distribution

Dwesa, Transkei, through KZN (44-58), in lower eulittoral zone and rock pools.

World distribution: Western Indian Ocean (Mozambique, Kenya, Mauritius, Réunion) also Fiji (Silva et al. 1996, Guiry & Guiry 2014).

Type locality: Isipingo Beach near Durban, KZN (Silva 1959).

Note: the creeping, subdichotomously branched thallus and long, slender utricles are distinctive of this species among southern African Codium species.

 

Codium prostratum, herbarium specimens

 Codium prostratum, utricles

 

References

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.

Levring, T. (1938). Verzeichnis einiger Chlorophyceen und Phaeophyceen von Südafrika. Lunds Universitets Årsskrift, Ny Följd, Andra Afdelningen 34(9): 1-25, 10 figs, pls I-IV.

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

Silva, P.C., Basson, P.W. & Moe, R.L. (1996). Catalogue of the benthic marine algae of the Indian Ocean. University of California Publications in Botany 79: 1-1259.

 

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.