''Fucus ceranoides'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

brown algae Brown algae (: alga) are a large group of multicellular algae comprising the class (biology), class Phaeophyceae. They include many seaweeds located in colder waters of the Northern Hemisphere. Brown algae are the major seaweeds of the temperate ...

found in the

littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

zone of the sea shore.

Description

''Fucus ceranoides'' is a species similar to other species of ''

Fucus ''Fucus'' is a genus of brown algae found in the intertidal zones of rocky seashores almost throughout the world. Description and life cycle The thallus is perennial with an irregular or disc-shaped holdfast or with haptera. The erect portion ...

''. It is linear to about 1 cm wide and is attached by a discoid holdfast. The branches grow to a length of 60 cm and show a clear midrib. Its margin is entire and it differs from ''

Fucus serratus ''Fucus serratus'' is a seaweed of the north Atlantic Ocean, known as toothed wrack, serrated wrack, or saw wrack. Description and reproduction ''Fucus serratus'' is a robust alga, olive-brown in colour and similar to ''Fucus vesiculosus'' an ...

'' in not having a serrated edge and unlike ''

Fucus vesiculosus ''Fucus vesiculosus'', known by the common names bladderwrack, black tang, rockweed, sea grapes, bladder fucus, sea oak, cut weed, dyers fucus, red fucus and rock wrack, is a seaweed found on the coasts of the North Sea, the western Baltic Sea ...

'' it does not have air vesicles, however irregular swellings gives it a resemblance to ''F. vesiculosus''. ''

Fucus spiralis ''Fucus spiralis'' is a species of seaweed, a brown alga (Heterokontophyta, Phaeophyceae), living on the littoral shore of the Atlantic coasts of Europe and North America. It has the common names of spiral wrack and flat wrack. Description ''Fu ...

'' has spirally twisted fronds.Newton, L. 1931. ''A Handbook of the British Seaweeds.'' British Museum, LondonHardy, F.G. and Guiry, M.D. 2003. ''A Check-list and Atlas of the Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.'' British Phycological Society

Distribution

Fucoids have no planktonic dispersal stages, restricting gamete dispersal. They can be found on the shores of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

including the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

and

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

Habitat

''Fucus ceranoides'' is restricted to estuarine intertidal habitats under fluctuating salinities. The modern distribution of ''Fucus ceranoides'' ranges from Portugal to Norway and Iceland. This includes the rocky shores in the

generally where fresh water flows into the sea, brackish water in sheltered bays. Fucus ceranoides are well adapted to abiotic conditions encountered across estuarine salinities. Increased levels of salinity present the most stress to Fucus ceranoides, hence their absence from marine conditions and its inability to colonize the coasts. At levels of high salinity, Fucus ceranoides will decay to a rust brown color.

References

External links

* Protists described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Fucaceae Brown algae species {{Phaeophyceae-stub