Scouring-pad Alga
Endocladia muricata
Range and Habitat 3
Range
Endocladia muricata is widely distributed along the Western shores of North America, from Alaska (USA) to Punto Santo Tomas, Baja California (MEX). Also found near the Channel Islands (Abbott and Hollenberg, 1976).
Habitat
E. muricata, Scouring-pad Algae, are found on the top or vertical faces of rocks. High to mid intertidal species. It is the most common alga in the upper intertidal of Central California. In Southern California, it forms low, tight turf with Gelidium spp. and blue-green algae to trap moisture, sediment, and house many small organisms including mussels (Pacific Rocky Intertidal, 2017). It can be epiphytic on other species (Abbott and Hollenberg, 1976).
Morphology and Identification 4
Morphology and Identification
Endocladia muricata grow between 4 – 8 cm tall and form dense bushy tufts. The thalli is dark red with radial to subdichotomous branching and cylindrical axes with conical spines. The gonimoblasts that are laterally swollen or spherical. Gonimoblasts are located on subterminal branchlets or near the tops of main branches and can be orange-gold in color when mature (Abbott and Hollenberg, 1976).
E. muricata is responsible for the dark bands seen in the high to midtidal (Pacific Rocky Intertidal, 2017). This species can be easily confused with Gelidium pusillum and Caulacanthus ustulatus. Characteristics used to distinguish E. muricata from the other two species include: Dense / bushy thalli, between 4 - 8 cm tall, dark red to blackish-brown color, cylindrical, covered with small spines (Pacific Rocky Intertidal, 2017).
Sources and Credits
- (c) Jerry Kirkhart, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/33466410@N00/2282439888
- (c) Jesse Aragon, all rights reserved, uploaded by Jesse Aragon
- Adapted by B Claire Arre from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocladia_muricata
- Adapted by B Claire Arre from a work by (c) cbbolanos, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
More Info
iNat Map
| Common name | Algae, Red Algae |
|---|---|
| Region | Alaska to British Columbia, Channel Islands North, Channel Islands South, Government Point to Mexico, San Francisco to Government Point, WA Olympic Coast to San Francisco |
