''Cordylecladia erecta'' is a species of

red algae Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), make up one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta comprises one of the largest Phylum, phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 recognized species within over 900 Genus, genera amidst ongoing taxon ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Rhodymeniaceae. It is found in the north east Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and is the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of the genus.

Description

''Cordylecladia erecta'' grows in small tufts from a disc-like, rhizoidal, crustose base attached to rock but often hidden beneath the sand. It has tough reddish-brown cylindrical fronds that grow to . These are solid, either unbranched or sparsely branched dichotomously and taper to points. The reproductive structures are only visible in winter and appear as enlarged, spindle-shaped areas near the ends of the fronds. This seaweed could be confused with ''

Ahnfeltia plicata ''Ahnfeltia plicata'', the landlady's wig, is a species of red alga in the family Ahnfeltiaceae. It grows in northern parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Description The landlady's wig forms tufted perennial plants with wiry fronds, branching from a ...

'' but that species is more bushy with wiry fronds that branch irregularly and are only in diameter.

Distribution and habitat

''Cordylecladia erecta'' occurs in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Its range extends from the

Shetland Islands Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the Uni ...

southwards but in the British Isles it is mostly found on the south and west coasts. It is found on the lower shore and subtidally, on rocks covered with sand.

Biology

The life cycle of ''Cordylecladia erecta'' involves an alternation of generations with both sexual and

asexual Asexual or Asexuals may refer to: *Asexual reproduction **Asexual reproduction in starfish *Asexuality, the lack of sexual attraction to anyone or lack of interest in or desire for sexual activity. **Gray asexuality, the spectrum between asexualit ...

phases. Male

gametophyte A gametophyte () is one of the two alternating multicellular phases in the life cycles of plants and algae. It is a haploid multicellular organism that develops from a haploid spore that has one set of chromosomes. The gametophyte is the se ...

plants have spermatangial sori that form pod-like structures long close to the tips of the fronds. Female plants are recognisable by bunches of sterile hairs that develop first near the tips of the fronds and later extend to most of the rest of the frond. Carpogonia develop on short curved branches among these hairs. These structures liberate

gamete A gamete ( ) is a Ploidy#Haploid and monoploid, haploid cell that fuses with another haploid cell during fertilization in organisms that Sexual reproduction, reproduce sexually. Gametes are an organism's reproductive cells, also referred to as s ...

s into the water and after fertilisation, the

zygote A zygote (; , ) is a eukaryote, eukaryotic cell (biology), cell formed by a fertilization event between two gametes. The zygote's genome is a combination of the DNA in each gamete, and contains all of the genetic information of a new individ ...

s settle to the seabed. Tetrasporophyte plants develop from these and are at first indistinguishable from the gametophytes but when they become mature they develop spindle-shaped structures at the tips of the fronds measuring up to . These release

tetraspore Tetraspores are red algae spores produced by the tetrasporophytic (diploid) phase in the life history of algae in the Rhodophyta as a result of meiosis.Jones, W.E. Revised and reprinted 1964. A Key to the genera of the British seaweeds.''Field S ...

s which develop into a new generation of gametophyte plants. It has been shown that the cycle is initiated by the short day conditions existing between October and April.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5170111 Rhodymeniales Protists described in 1852