Biodiversity & Conservation

A red seaweed - Ceramium virgatum - General information

Ceramium virgatum

Image Dr F. Arenas - A specimen of Ceramium virgatum with a branch of Corallina to the right. Image width ca 5 cm.
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Distribution map

Ceramium virgatum recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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Ceramium virgatum is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Dr Keith Hiscock and Paolo Pizzolla Text page icon Refereed by: Dr Fabio Rindi

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Rhodophyta Red seaweeds
Class Rhodophyta Red seaweeds
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Found on most suitable shores around Britain and Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Ceramium virgatum is both epilithic and epiphytic, often growing on the stipes and fronds of Fucus spp., Mastocarpus stellatus and Laminaria hyperborea as well as on the leaves of Zostera marina in the subtidal. It is frequent on Codium fragile subsp. Tomentosoides in intertidal rockpools (F. Rindi, pers. comm.).
Text page icon Description A small red seaweed growing up to 30 cm tall. It has a filamentous frond that is irregularly and dichotomously branched, with the branches narrowing towards pincer-like tips. The holdfast is a minute conical disc that extend into a dense mass of rhizoidal filaments. The plant is reddish-brown to purple in colour and has a banded appearance when viewed closely.

This review can be cited as follows:

Dr Keith Hiscock and Paolo Pizzolla 2007. Ceramium virgatum. 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 22/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=2922>