''Choreocolax polysiphoniae'' is a minute marine parasitic alga in the division

Rhodophyta Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta also comprises one of the largest phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 currently recognized species with taxonomic revisions ongoing. The majority ...

Description

This small parasitic alga grows on the red alga ''

Polysiphonia lanosa ''Polysiphonia lanosa'' (''Vertebrata lanosa'';Bunker, F.StP.D., Maggs, C.A., Brodie, J.A. and Bunker, A.R. 2017 ''Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.'' Second Edition. Wild Nature Press, Plymouth Press, UK. ''Polysiphonia fastigiata'') is a commo ...

''. It grows as an irregular sphere on the fronds of the alga, reaching no more than 1 mm in extent.Irvine, L.M.1983. ''Seaweeds of the British Isles Volume 1 Rhodophyta Part 2A Cryptonemiales (sensu stricto) Palmariales, Rhodymeniales.'' British Museum (Natural History)

Habitat

Parasitic on ''Polysiphonia lanosa'', the filaments grow into the host.

Distribution

The species has been reported from North Russia and the Pacific. In Ireland it has been confidently recorded from counties Down, Antrim and Waterford and at scattered sites around the British Isles including the

Shetland Islands Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

.Hardy, F.G. and Guiry,D. 2003. ''A Check-list and Atlas of the seaweeds of Britain and Ireland''.London: British Phycologcal Society.

Reproduction

Cruciate tetrasporangia are produced all year round in the cortex. The gametangial are dioecious and are produced in spring and summer.

References

Ceramiales Parasitic eukaryotes Species described in 1875 {{Rhodophyta-stub