Biodiversity & Conservation

Carrageen - Chondrus crispus - General information

Chondrus crispus

Image Nova Mieszkowska - The seaweed Chondrus crispus. Image width ca 15 cm.
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Distribution map

Chondrus crispus 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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Chondrus crispus is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Will Rayment and Paolo Pizzola Text page icon Refereed by: Dr Stefan Kraan

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Rhodophyta Red seaweeds
Class Rhodophyta Red seaweeds
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Widely distributed on rocky shores on all British and Irish coasts.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Abundant on rocks on the middle to lower rocky shore and in tide pools. It occurs sublittorally to 24 m. It can tolerate some reduction in salinity and can be found in estuaries.
Text page icon Description Chondrus crispus is a small purplish-red seaweed (up to 22 cm long) found on rocky shores and in pools. The fronds grow dichotomously from a narrow, unbranched stipe and are flat and wide with rounded tips. This seaweed is highly variable in appearance depending on the level of wave exposure of the shore and has a tendency to turn green in strong sunlight. Underwater, the tips of the frond can be iridescent.

This review can be cited as follows:

Will Rayment and Paolo Pizzola 2008. Chondrus crispus. Carrageen. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 25/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=2971>