Biodiversity & Conservation

A red seaweed - Catenella caespitosa - General information

Catenella caespitosa

Image Keith Hiscock - Catenella caespitosa. Image width ca 50 cm.
Image copyright information

Distribution map

Catenella caespitosa recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

Sightings Have you seen Catenella caespitosa?
If so please submit your record.

Catenella caespitosa is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Paolo Pizzolla Text page icon Refereed by:

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Rhodophyta Red seaweeds
Class Rhodophyta Red seaweeds
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Widely distributed and common to rocky shores on all coasts of the UK and Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information It is commonly found on the middle to upper levels of rocky shores, but is restricted to sheltered and shaded conditions. It can also sometimes be found in estuaries. It often grows together Gelidium pusillum, with which it can be confused.
Text page icon Description A moss-like plant with an irregularly and highly branched frond. The frond is constricted at intervals into different sized segments and the holdfast is a mass of tangled fibres. The plant is small (growing up to 2 cm tall) and is dark purple.

This review can be cited as follows:

Paolo Pizzolla 2003. Catenella caespitosa. A red seaweed. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 03/09/2010]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=2904>