RHODOPHYTA : CERAMIALES : DelesseriaceaeRED ALGAE

Nitophyllum punctatum (Stackhouse) Greville


Nitophyllum punctatum

Description: Growing as tufts of blades from a discoid holdfast. Fronds up to 50 cms long and membranous, may be simple or deeply divided into wedge-shaped segments without veins. Very variable. Generally delicate, tearing easily. Spores arranged in elongate patches scattered on the frond.

Habitat: Lower littoral into the sublittoral to depths of 24 m or more.

Distribution: Widely distributed around the British Isles including Shetland. Europe: Mediterranean, Azores, Portugal, Atlantic coast of Spain, Norway. Further afield: the Canary Islands and the Black Sea.

Similar Species: Haraldiophyllum bonnemaisonii; Drachiella minuta; Rhodophyllis divaricata. The elongate reproductive patches are very distinctive.

Key Identification Features:

Distribution Map: NBN map : National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

WoRMS: Species record : World Register of Marine Species.

iNaturalist: Species account : iNaturalist World Species Observations database



 Morton, O. & Picton, B.E. (2016). Nitophyllum punctatum (Stackhouse) Greville. [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland.
https://www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/species.asp?item=ZM10020 Accessed on 2025-02-10

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