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Red Sea Moss
Rhodochorton purpureum
Authority:
(Lightfoot) Rosenvinge
North Pacific Distribution:
Arctic Ocean, Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, Alaska, to northern British Columbia; Russia
Phylum:
Rhodophyta
Class:
Florideophyceae
Order:
Acrochaetiales
Family:
Rhodochortonaceae
Former Scientific Names:
Byssus purpurea, Audouinella purpurea, Rhodochorton rothii
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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