Seaweeds of the South African South Coast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Order Acrochaetiales

Family Acrochaetiaceae

Acrochaetium catenulatum M.A.Howe 1914: 84, pl. 31: figs 12-18

Plants minute, rarely over a few hundred µm high. Gametophytes with a unicellular base and one to three erect filaments. Tetrasporophytes with a multicellular filamentous base developing from a septately germinated spore; septation pattern typically two-celled. In both generations erect filaments arcuate, with secund laterals and/or monosporangial series . Filaments 7-8 µm in diameter at maximum, tapering towards the apex. Cells barrel-shaped, somewhat shorter to somewhat longer than broad. Monosporangia in terminal or lateral catenate series of 2-4: sporangia 6-8.5 (-12.5) x 5-7 µm.

Collections, ecology and regional distribution

Recorded from the Orange River to the Port Alfred area (1-39). On various larger algae; usually only the tetrasporophyte is found; fairly common in the lower eulittoral zone and below.

World distribution: Widely distributed in temperate seas (Stegenga et al. 1997).

Type locality: Callao, Peru (Silva et al. 1996).

Notes: Stegenga (1985) and Stegenga et al. (1997) considered that Acrochaetium densum and A. catenulatum were phases in the same life history – the latter name takes precedence. See Stegenga (1985) for further details on this and other South African Acrochaetiaceae.

Acrochaetium catenulatum (tetrasporophyte). 1. Basal system (from culture). 2. Erect axis with monosporangia. (Illustrations reproduced from Stegenga et al. 1997)

 

References Acrochaetium catenulatum

Howe, M.A. (1914). The marine algae of Peru. Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club 15: 1-185, 44 figs, 66 plates.

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.

Stegenga, H. (1985). The marine Acrochaetiaceae (Rhodophyta) of southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 51: 291-330, 25 figs, 1 table.

Stegenga, H., Bolton, J.J. and R. J. Anderson. 1997. Seaweeds of the South African west coast. Contributions from the Bolus Herbarium 18: 655 pp.

 

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 25 April 2024.