''Dictyota binghamiae'', commonly known as mermaid's glove, is a species of

brown algae Brown algae (singular: alga), comprising the class Phaeophyceae, are a large group of multicellular algae, including many seaweeds located in colder waters within the Northern Hemisphere. Brown algae are the major seaweeds of the temperate and po ...

found in the eastern

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

. This species was named in honor of phycologist Caroline Bingham.

Description

''D. binghamiae'' is a brown algae species that can reach up to 40 cm in length, with each branch between 1 and 1.5 cm in width. Blades are dichotomously branched with rounded tips and small marginal teeth. The color of the blade is darker at the base and lighter at the tips. Branches do not contain

midrib This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

s. This species attaches to substrate using a flattened, irregularly shaped holdfast. New branches can sprout off directly from the holdfast. ''D. binghamiae'' can commonly be found with bore holes, which are caused by a

copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...

s. Organisms can be male, female,

tetrasporic Tetraspores are red algae spores produced by the tetrasporophytic (diploid) phase in the life history of algae in the Rhodophyta as a result of meiosis.Jones, W.E. Revised and reprinted 1964. A Key to the genera of the British seaweeds.''Field Stu ...

, or possess no reproductive structures at all. Males possess white oval-shaped sori. Males with a high density of sori can appear rough or mottled in appearance. Female plants contain dark colored sori on both sides of branches. Females typically contain less sori than males. Tetrasporic individuals are distinguished from females by the arrangement, increased size, and decreased abundance of sori. The genus name ''

Dictyota ''Dictyota'' is a genus of brown seaweed in the family Dictyotaceae. Species are predominantly found in tropical and subtropical seas, and are known to contain numerous chemicals (diterpenes) which have potential medicinal value. As at the end of ...

'' comes from the Greek word , which means "net-like". ''D. binghamiae'' is one of the largest members of its genus, which contains over 200 species. This species was described by

Jacob Georg Agardh Jacob Georg Agardh (8 December 1813 in Lund, Sweden – 17 January 1901 in Lund, Sweden) was a Sweden, Swedish botanist, phycologist, and taxonomist. He was the son of Carl Adolph Agardh, and from 1854 until 1879 was professor of botany at Lund ...

in 1984 and was named after phycologist Caroline Bingham, who often shared materials and collaborated with Agardh.

Distribution and habitat

''D. binghamiae'' can be found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from British Columbia to Baja California. This species is common on small rocks and coral in the

intertidal The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of Marine habitat, habitats with var ...

and

subtidal The neritic zone (or sublittoral zone) is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, approximately in depth. From the point of view of marine biology it forms a relatively stable and well-illuminated ...

zones to a depth of up to 30 m.

Reproduction

Male and female reproductive systems are found on separate individuals. This species is also capable of

asexual reproduction Asexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that does not involve the fusion of gametes or change in the number of chromosomes. The offspring that arise by asexual reproduction from either unicellular or multicellular organisms inherit the fu ...

through

stolon In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...

s. Studies suggest that tetrasporic individuals are more common than separately sexed individuals. Individuals can also contain no sexual structures at all.

Natural products

Like other members of the family

Dictyotaceae Dictyotaceae is large family (biology), family of brown algae (class Phaeophyceae). Members of this family generally prefer warmer waters than other brown algae. ''Lobophora variegata'' (= ''Pocockiella varieagata'') often presents a beautiful b ...

, ''D. binghamiae'' is a source of

diterpinoid Diterpenes are a class of chemical compounds composed of four isoprene units, often with the molecular formula C20H32. They are biosynthesized by plants, animals and fungi via the HMG-CoA reductase pathway, with geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate being ...

s. This species contains pachydictyol A, dictyoxide, dictyoxide A, dictyol G acetate, and dictyotriol A diacetate.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3026791 Dictyotaceae Taxa named by Jacob Georg Agardh Plants described in 1894