Carpomitra costata (Stackhouse) Batters

Description: Erect thalli less than 3 mm wide growing from a fibrous holdfast to 20 cms long. Firm and cartilaginous, branching dense, flattened and irregular with midrib. In summer with a tuft of filaments at the ends of the branches.

Habitat: Occasional. Epilithic in the sublittoral to more tham 30 m depth.

Distribution: Western distribution in the British Isles: Ireland, Scotland and the south-west coasts of Wales and England, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Europe: Mediterranean, Azores, Portugal, Spain and France. Further afield: the Canary Islands, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Similar Species: The only other species with terminal tufts is Sporochnus pedunculatus which has terete thalli.

Key Identification Features:

• In summer with terminal tuft of filaments 4 - 6 mm long.

Distribution Map from BioMar data for Ireland - Google Earth map:  download this placemark (not got Google Earth installed?)

Distribution Map from NBN: JNCC MNCR Seasearch data - Grid map : Interactive map : National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

Morton, O. & Picton, B.E., 2010. [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland http://www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/species.asp?item=ZR4850

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