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Cartilaginous Branched Red Alga

Distribution : Mediterranean · Atlantic Ocean

In spinning workshops, the spindle was a familiar tool, thick in the middle and tapered at the ends. Spinners turned it to twist fibres into thread. The name turns up in an unexpected place: in French, this branched red alga is also called “algue fuseau”, or spindle alga. Its cylindrical branches narrow repeatedly, sometimes so close together at the tips that they look like tiny pieces of beaded jewellery. Underwater, the reddish-brown tufts can reach several tens of centimetres.

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Habitat of Cartilaginous Branched Red Alga Habitat
Rocky habitat
Depth range of Cartilaginous Branched Red Alga Depth
5-60 m
Biological group of Cartilaginous Branched Red Alga Group
Ecological role of Cartilaginous Branched Red Alga Role
Primary producer

Average size

12 cm

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

The branches of this red alga (Chrysymenia ventricosa) resemble little swollen tubes. Rounded, flexible and fleshy, they divide into an uneven outline. Some parts let light filter through.

Beige, pink or violet: it does not always have the colour suggested by the name “red alga”. Shades differ between individuals.

WHERE DOES IT LIVE?

Among other algae or on a rock surface, the branched red alga remains attached to a hard support. Described positions include relatively calm, partly shaded areas. It occurs in the Mediterranean and some nearby temperate Atlantic regions at shallow to intermediate depths.

WHAT DOES IT EAT?

Pigments in the branched alga capture the light energy needed for photosynthesis. Using water and dissolved carbon, its cells make sugars and other organic compounds that support their activities and growth. Minerals taken up from seawater are also necessary.

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Cartilaginous Branched Red Alga

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DEPTH HABITAT PHYLA ECOLOGICAL ROLE