''Plocamium'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
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
Plocamiaceae. It contains around 40 species and has a
cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that extends across most or all of the surface of the Earth, in appropriate habitats; most cosmopolitan species are known to be highly adaptable to a range of climatic and en ...
in temperate seas, although it is most diverse in the
southern hemisphere. It is widely distributed in tropical and also warm-temperate and cold-temperate seas, such as northern Europe,
the northern
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...
and western Australia. They are also found in the
Antarctic
The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole.
The Antar ...
regions of
Admiralty Bay (maritime Antarctica, Antarctic Peninsula) and
Terra Nova Bay
Terra Nova Bay () is a bay which is often ice free, about long, lying between Cape Washington and the Drygalski Ice Tongue along the coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition (known as the ...
(in the
Ross Sea
The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Clark Ross who ...
).
Description
''Plocamium'' has erect elliptical
thalli
Thallus (: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. A thallus usually names the entir ...
that grow up to in length. They are bright red in color with strongly flattened delicately branching fronds that further divide into two to five smaller branchlets.
Cystocarps
A cystocarp is the fruiting structure produced in the red algae after fertilization, especially such a structure having a special protective envelope (as in
''Polysiphonia)''. The structure from which carpospore
A carpospore is a diploid spore pr ...
(fruiting parts) are either scattered along the frond margins or found on special short fertile branches, and lack a specialized pore for
carpospore
A carpospore is a diploid spore produced by 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 spe ...
release. Tetrasporangia are borne in specialized stichidia (branches of the thallus) of various morphologies.
[
]
Accepted species
Species classified under the genus include the following:Nomina dubia
In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application.
Zoology
In case of a ''nomen dubium,'' it may be impossible to determine whether a ...
:''
*'' Plocamium concinnum'' Areschoug
*'' Plocamium froelichianum'' Kützing
*'' Plocamium subtile'' Kützing, 1866
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7205050
Red algae genera
Florideophyceae