Biodiversity & Conservation

A red seaweed - Membranoptera alata - General information

A red seaweed

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Distribution map

Membranoptera alata recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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Membranoptera alata is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Rose Edwards 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 throughout the British Isles but not recorded from parts of eastern England.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Grows on rocks or on other red and brown seaweeds as an epiphyte, particularly laminarians. Inhabits shady rock pools, the sublittoral and deeper waters.
Text page icon Description Membranoptera alata is a red or reddish-brown seaweed, up to 20 cm in length, with a flat, narrow frond. It exhibits a midrib and many fine, lateral veins, which can be clearly seen under a hand lens. It has many branches, arising from the central axis, which are irregular, dichotomous, and copiously branched in one plane. This perennial plant has a thin membranous thallus.

This review can be cited as follows:

Rose Edwards 2003. Membranoptera alata. 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=3790>