Seaweeds of the South African South Coast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Order Ceramiales

Family Ceramiaceae

Ceramium aff. callipterum Mazoyer 1938: 14-18, figs. 1, 2, pl. 1

Plants with a single holdfast, up to 5 mm tall, Thallus complanate, filaments branched every three (to four) segments. Main axis clear, branching to 5 orders. Cortication developing from 5 periaxial cells. Cortication in the upper section of the plants virtually absent or restricted to a few acropetal cells, later (two) basipetal cells may be cut off, or one of these is in the position of a pseudo-periaxial cell (material from the west coast, being larger, apparently shows a further development of cortication). Terminal branchlets little incurved. Internodes clear from the top of the plant, but not extending much, usually shorter than broad in all parts of the plant.

Tetrasporangia rarely more than two per segment, developing in the plane of branching, completely naked, measuring up to 62x50 µm, tetrahedrally divided. Spermatangia developing on a number of subapical segments, most abundant in the plane of branching. Carposporophytes only seen in an immature state, surrounded by three involucral filaments.

Collections, ecology and regional distribution

Epiphytic and epizoic. On the south coast only found in a deep sample off the shore of Tsitsikamma (16-32?), on Epymenia. Material from the west side of the Cape Peninsula was bigger (to 3 cm.) and had more extensively developed cortication in the older segments (Stegenga et al. 1997).

World distribution: Morocco, France Portugal, Spain (see references in Guiry & Guiry 2015).

Type locality: Mazagan (Al Kadoda), Morocco (Silva et al. 1996).

 

Ceramium aff. callipterum. 1-2 Thallus apex. 3-4 Older segments. 5 Tetrasporangia. Reproduced from Stegenga et al. (1997).

Ceramium aff. Callipterum, with tetrasporangia. Stained slide, specimen from 24m depth, Tsitsikamma.

Ceramium aff. Callipterum, detail of central and pericentral cells. Stained slide, specimen from 24m depth, Tsitsikamma.

 

References Ceramium aff. callipterum

Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. 2015. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org; searched on 20 November 2015.

Mazoyer, G. 1938. Sur une nouvelle espèce de Ceramium des côtes marocaines: Ceramium callipterum nov. sp. Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire Naturelle de l'Afrique du Nord 29: 14-18, 2 figs, 1 plate.

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., Bolton, J.J. & 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 26 April 2024.