Coralline algae are red algae in the order Corallinales. They are characterized by a thallus that is hard because of calcareous deposits contained within the cell walls. The colors of these algae are most typically pink, or some other shade of red, but some species can be purple, yellow, blue, white, or gray-green. Coralline algae play an important role in the ecology of coral reefs. Sea urchins, parrot fish, and limpets and chitons feed on coralline algae. In the temperate Mediterranean Sea, coralline algae are the main builders of a typical algal reef, the Coralligène ("coralligenous"). Many are typically encrusting and rock-like, found in marine waters all over the world. Only one species lives in freshwater. Unattached specimens may form relatively smooth compact balls to warty or fruticose thalli.
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.
Halimeda is a genus of green macroalgae. The algal body (thallus) is composed of calcified green segments. Calcium carbonate is deposited in its tissues, making it inedible to most herbivores. However one species, Halimeda tuna, was described as pleasant to eat with oil, vinegar, and salt.
Padina pavonica, commonly known as the peacock's tail, is a small brown alga found in the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It inhabits pools in the littoral zone typically with clayey, silty or sandy sediments. Other habitats include rocks and shell fragments in the shallow sublittoral, seagrass meadows, mangrove roots and coral reefs on tidal flats.
Bryopsis is a genus of marine green algae in the family Bryopsidaceae. It is frequently a pest in aquariums, where it is commonly referred to as hair algae.
Udotea is a genus of green algae in the family Udoteaceae.
Turbinaria is a genus of brown algae (Phaeophyceae) found primarily in tropical marine waters. It generally grows on rocky substrates. In tropical Turbinaria species that are often preferentially consumed by herbivorous fishes and echinoids, there is a relatively low level of phenolics and tannins.
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.
Jania is a genus of red macroalgae with hard, calcareous, branching skeletons in the family Corallinaceae.
Favia fragrum is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Mussidae. It is commonly known as the golfball coral and is found in tropical waters on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Stypopodium is a genus of thalloid brown alga in the family Dictyotaceae. Members of the genus are found in shallow tropical and subtropical seas around Africa, Pakistan, India, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, Micronesia, the Caribbean, Venezuela, and Brazil.
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.
Acetabularia caliculus, the umbrella alga, is a species of green alga found in shallow temperate and tropical seas. It usually grows on pebbles, shells or pieces of rock, and is often found in seagrass meadows, on mudflats and coral reefs, in estuaries and growing on the submerged roots of mangroves. Each individual thallus consists of a single cell with a long stipe and a terminal cup-shaped or flattened disc.
Lobophora is a genus of thalloid brown seaweed of the Phylum Ochrophyta; Class Phaeophyceae.
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.
Cystoseira foeniculacea is a species of brown alga in the genus Cystoseira.
Dictyota bartayresiana, commonly known as a forded sea tumbleweed, is a species of brown alga found in the tropical western Indo-Pacific region and the Gulf of Mexico. It contains chemicals that are being researched for possible use as antimicrobials, as larvicides and as cytotoxins.
Dictyota implexa is a species of brown alga found in the temperate eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Dictyota dichotoma is a species of Brown algae found in the temperate western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, the Red Sea and the western Indian Ocean.
