| Green feather algae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Caulerpa sertularioides from Kewalo, Hawaii | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Phylum: | Chlorophyta |
| Class: | Ulvophyceae |
| Order: | Bryopsidales |
| Family: | Caulerpaceae |
| Genus: | Caulerpa |
| Species: | C. sertularioides |
| Binomial name | |
| Caulerpa sertularioides | |
Caulerpa sertularioides, also known as green feather algae, [1] [2] is a species of seaweed in the Caulerpaceae family found in warm water environments. [3]
The seaweed has a pale to dark-green thallus that typically grows to outward to around 0.35 to 2 metres (1.15 to 6.56 ft). [3] It has feather-like fronds that arise from a common stolon. Each of the fronds is upright and branched. The oppositely arranged branchlets are cylindrical to needle-shaped with upcurved tips with a blunt point at the end. Each branchlet has a length of 3 to 11 millimetres (0.118 to 0.433 in) and is attached to a cylindrical axis in the middle with a diameter of 1 to 1.5 mm (0.039 to 0.059 in). Each axis connects each frond to a creeping stolon with a diameter of 2 to 2.5 mm (0.079 to 0.098 in) and a length of up to 2 metres (7 ft). Stolons are branched out to slim points and rhizoids then form from bottom surface [1] these fork and penetrate the sandy substrate firmly anchoring the seaweed to the seafloor. [2]
The species was first formally described by the botanist and taxonomist Marshall Avery Howe in 1905 as part of the work Phycological studies - II. New Chlorophyceae, new Rhodophyceae and miscellaneous notes as published in the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. The basionym is Fucus sertularioides as described by Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin in 1768. [4]
The species is found widely through tropical waters. In the United States it is found from North Carolina to Florida. It is also found throughout the Caribbean around Bermuda, Bahamas, Greater and Lesser Antilles and in the Gulf of Mexico and in the southern Atlantic Ocean to Brazil (Taylor 1979). It is also found in the Pacific Ocean along the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and Palau. [1] In Western Australia, it is found along the coast in the Kimberley region extending south to the Gascoyne. [3]
The species is usually part of coastal and estuarine environments where it grows in sandy areas, as seagrass beds or on and around mangrove roots. It is mostly found as a shallow-water specimen to depths of around 10 metres (33 ft) although sparse individuals have been taken from depths of up to 110 metres (361 ft). [1]
Caulerpa taxifolia is a species of seaweed, an alga of the genus Caulerpa native to the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. It is widely used ornamentally in aquariums, because it is considered attractive and neat in arrangement, and is easy to establish and care for. The alga has a stem (rhizome) which spreads horizontally just above the seafloor. From this stem grow vertical fern-like pinnae, whose blades are flat like those of the yew (Taxus), hence the species name taxifolia.
Caulerpa is a genus of seaweeds in the family Caulerpaceae. They are unusual because they consist of only one cell with many nuclei, making them among the biggest single cells in the world. A species in the Mediterranean can have a stolon more than 3 metres (9.8 ft) long, with up to 200 fronds. This species can be invasive from time to time.
Caulerpa racemosa is a species of edible green alga, a seaweed in the family Caulerpaceae. It is commonly known as sea grapes and is found in many areas of shallow sea around the world. There are a number of different forms and varieties, and one that appeared in the Mediterranean Sea in 1990, which is giving cause for concern as an invasive species.
Halimeda tuna is a species of calcareous green seaweed in the order Bryopsidales. It is found on reefs in the Atlantic Ocean, the Indo-Pacific region and the Mediterranean Sea. Halimeda tuna is the type species of the genus Halimeda and the type locality is the Mediterranean Sea. The specific name "tuna" comes from the Taíno language, meaning "cactus" and referring to the resemblance of the thallus to the growth form of an Opuntia cactus.
Osmundea pinnatifida is a species of red alga known by the common name pepper dulse.
Codium fragile, known commonly as green sea fingers, dead man's fingers, felty fingers, forked felt-alga, stag seaweed, sponge seaweed, green sponge, green fleece, and oyster thief, is a species of seaweed in the family Codiaceae. It originates in the Pacific Ocean near Japan and has become an invasive species on the coasts of the Northern Atlantic Ocean.
Caulerpa prolifera is a species of green alga, a seaweed in the family Caulerpaceae. It is the type species of the genus Caulerpa, the type location being Alexandria, Egypt. It grows rapidly and forms a dense mass of vegetation on shallow sandy areas of the sea.
Stypopodium zonale is a species of thalloid brown alga in the family Dictyotaceae. It is found in shallow waters in the Caribbean Sea and in various other tropical and sub-tropical seas around the world.
Lobophora variegata is a species of small thalloid brown alga which grows intertidally or in shallow water in tropical and warm temperate seas. It has three basic forms, being sometimes ruffled, sometimes reclining and sometimes encrusting, and each form is typically found in a different habitat. This seaweed occurs worldwide. It is the type species of the genus Lobophora, the type locality being the Antilles in the West Indies.
Caulerpa cupressoides, commonly known as cactus tree alga, is a species of seaweed in the Caulerpaceae family.
Caulerpa longifolia, commonly known as feather caulerpa or long-filament caulerpa, is a species of seaweed in the Caulerpaceae family.
Caulerpa obscura is a species of seaweed in the Caulerpaceae family.
Caulerpa papillosa is a species of seaweed in the Caulerpaceae family.
Caulerpa sedoides, also known as mini-grapes or bubble culerpa, is a species of seaweed in the Caulerpaceae family native to Australia.
Caulerpa serrulata, commonly known as cactus tree alga or serrated green seaweed, is a species of seaweed in the Caulerpaceae family found in warm marine water environments.
Caulerpa trifaria is a species of seaweed in the Caulerpaceae family.
Caulerpa webbiana, commonly known as bottlebrush green seaweed, is a species of seaweed in the family Caulerpaceae.
Caulerpa ambigua is a species of seaweed in the Caulerpaceae family found in marine waters of the Pacific Ocean in island south of Japan. It has a limited distribution and is endemic around the Bonin Islands in the Pacific Ocean around 500 km (311 mi) south of Japan.
Caulerpa subserrata is a species of seaweed in the Caulerpaceae family.
Padina boergesenii, commonly known as the leafy rolled-blade alga, is a species of small brown alga found in the tropical and subtropical western Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Pacific Ocean. This seaweed was named in honour of the Danish botanist and phycologist Frederik Børgesen.