Green feather algae | |
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Caulerpa sertularioides fromKewalo,Hawaii | |
Scientific classification![]() | |
Clade: | Viridiplantae |
Division: | Chlorophyta |
Class: | Ulvophyceae |
Order: | Bryopsidales |
Family: | Caulerpaceae |
Genus: | Caulerpa |
Species: | C. sertularioides |
Binomial name | |
Caulerpa sertularioides |
Caulerpa sertularioides, also known asgreen feather algae,[1][2] is a species of seaweed in theCaulerpaceae family found in warm water environments.[3]
The seaweed has a pale to dark-greenthallus 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 creepingstolon 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 andrhizoids 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 taxonomistMarshall Avery Howe in 1905 as part of the workPhycological studies - II. New Chlorophyceae, new Rhodophyceae and miscellaneous notes as published in theBulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. Thebasionym isFucus sertularioides as described bySamuel Gottlieb Gmelin in 1768.[4]
The species is found widely through tropical waters. In theUnited 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 theGulf of Mexico and in the southernAtlantic Ocean to Brazil (Taylor 1979). It is also found in thePacific Ocean along theGreat Barrier Reef in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and Palau.[1] In Western Australia, it is found along the coast in theKimberley region extending south to theGascoyne.[3]
The species is usually part of coastal and estuarine environments where it grows in sandy areas, as seagrass beds or on and aroundmangrove 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]