Biodiversity & Conservation

Spiral wrack - Fucus spiralis - General information

Fucus spiralis

Image Keith Hiscock - Detail of Fucus spiralis fronds. Image width ca 15 cm.
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Distribution map

Fucus spiralis 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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Fucus spiralis is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Nicola White Text page icon Refereed by: Dr Graham Scott

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Ochrophyta Brown and yellow-green seaweeds
Class Phaeophyceae
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland All coasts of Britain and Ireland
Habitat information icon Habitat information Fucus spiralis attaches to rocky substrata on sheltered to moderately exposed shores. It lives on the upper shore below the zone of Pelvetia canaliculata and above Fucus vesiculosus and Ascophyllum nodosum.
Text page icon Description An intertidal brown seaweed, found on the high shore. It grows up to 40 cm long, without air bladders and lives for up to 4 years. The species can tolerate a high level of desiccation. Fronds have a characteristic ridge along the edge of the receptacles.

This review can be cited as follows:

Nicola White 2008. Fucus spiralis. Spiral wrack. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 20/06/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=3347>