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Genus (i.e. Fucus)
Species (i.e. Gardneri)
Common Name (i.e. Rock Weed)
Phylum (i.e. Ochrophyta)
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Red Sea Moss
Rhodochorton purpureum
Authority:
(Lightfoot) Rosenvinge
North Pacific Distribution:
Arctic Ocean, Bering Sea and Aleutian Is., Alaska, to Baja California, Mexico; Japan; Russia.
Phylum:
Rhodophyta
Class:
Florideophyceae
Order:
Acrochaetiales
Family:
Acrochaetiaceae
Former Scientific Names:
Audouinella purpurea, Byssus purpurea, Rhodochorton rothii, R. tenue
Description: Thallus forms purplish-red turfs of erect, very fine, sparingly branched filaments 5-10 mm (0.2-0.4 in) tall. Filaments are densely intertwined basally. Habitat: Turfs occur in the high intertidal on the walls of sea caves or in shady rock crevices, also on mid to low intertidal rock in sheltered to semi-exposed habitats. Similar taxa: Sphacelaria rigidula also forms carpets of short filaments in the intertidal, but it is a brown alga.
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