Rhodophyta · Red Seaweed

Membranoptera spinulosa

(Ruprecht) Kuntze
Phylum
Rhodophyta
Class
Florideophyceae
Order
Ceramiales
Family
Delesseriaceae

Membranoptera spinulosa

Bering membrane wing

Authority
(Ruprecht) Kuntze
Thallus is pale red, to 7 cm (3 in) tall, with a midrib running the length of the thin, narrow, branched blades and with microscopic lateral veins. Margins smooth or toothed (denticulate). Thallus is attached to the substrate, which can be rock, other algae, or animals, by a small discoidal holdfast.

Habitat

This species is an annual; it occurs on rock in the low intertidal (if higher, in tide pools) and subtidal in semi-protected to semi-exposed habitats.

North Pacific Distribution

Bering Sea amd Aleutian Islands to Southeast Alaska; Japan; Russia

Former scientific names

Delesseria beringiana var. spinulosa, Pteridium spinulosum, Delesseria beringiana, Membranoptera beringiana

Similar taxa

Phycodrys

Last updated December 26, 2010

Photos