Classification ⁴

Phylum: Rhodophyta
Class: Florideophyceae
Order: Gigartinales
Family: Polyidaceae
Source URL: http://www.algaebase.org/search/species/detail/?species_id=cf2d476c9600d1322

Historical Collecting Localities on Cape Cod ⁴

Buzzards Bay, MA
Cuttyhunk Island, Dukes County, MA
Devils Bridge, Martha's Vineyard, MA
Gay Head, Martha's Vineyard, MA
Naushon Island, Dukes County, MA
Nobska Point, Woods Hole, MA

Description ⁵

 A dark red or blackish seaweed with smooth, cartilaginous, cylindrical fronds, branching dichotomously in roughly the same plane. The fronds rise from a fleshy, discoid holdfast up to 2 cm in diameter. The reproductive bodies occur as oval shaped swellings along the sides of the branches or occasionally encircling them. The seaweed grows up to 20 cm in length.

Distribution ⁶

Generally distributed around the British Isles from the Shetlands to the Channel Islands. Europe: Portugal, Spain, France, the Baltic, Norway and the Faroes. Atlantic coast of North America: Labrador to Connecticut. Further afield: Arctic Sea.

Habitat ⁷

 Grows attached to rock and stones in pools in the lower intertidal and subtidally to 20 m. The holdfast is often buried by coarse, sandy deposits.

Habitat ⁸

Depth range based on 145 specimens in 1 taxon.
Water temperature and chemistry ranges based on 6 samples.

Environmental ranges
  Depth range (m): 0 - 27.43
  Temperature range (°C): 11.845 - 12.348
  Nitrate (umol/L): 4.729 - 6.151
  Salinity (PPS): 35.184 - 35.363
  Oxygen (ml/l): 6.128 - 6.151
  Phosphate (umol/l): 0.336 - 0.418
  Silicate (umol/l): 2.448 - 3.285

Graphical representation

Depth range (m): 0 - 27.43

Temperature range (°C): 11.845 - 12.348

Nitrate (umol/L): 4.729 - 6.151

Salinity (PPS): 35.184 - 35.363

Oxygen (ml/l): 6.128 - 6.151

Phosphate (umol/l): 0.336 - 0.418

Silicate (umol/l): 2.448 - 3.285
 
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this note. Your feedback is most welcome.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Bernard Picton, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/algae/dsc_2420.jpg
2. Pierre-Louis Crouan (1798-1871) & Hippolyte-Marie Crouan (1802-1871), no known copyright restrictions (public domain), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Polyides_rotunda_Crouan.jpg
3. (c) Gabriele Kothe-Heinrich, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Polyides_rotundus_Helgoland.JPG
4. (c) Joseph deVeer, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
5. (c)  The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/10658421
6. (c) National Museums Northern Ireland and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/5972549
7. (c)  The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/10658422
8. Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/17397567

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos

Range Map

(c) Barcode of Life Data Systems, some rights reserved (CC-BY)

iNat Map