''Fucus ceranoides'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 p ...

found in the

littoral The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal a ...

zone of the sea shore.

Description

''Fucus ceranoides'' is a species similar to other species of ''

Fucus ''Fucus'' is a genus of brown algae found in the intertidal zones of rocky seashores almost throughout the world. Description and life cycle The thallus is perennial with an irregular or disc-shaped holdfast or with haptera. The erect portion o ...

''. It is linear to about 1 cm wide and is attached by a discoid holdfast. The branches grow to a length of 60 cm and show a clear midrib. Its margin is entire and it differs from ''

Fucus serratus ''Fucus serratus'' is a seaweed of the north Atlantic Ocean, known as toothed wrack or serrated wrack. Description and reproduction ''Fucus serratus'' is a robust alga, olive-brown in colour and similar to '' Fucus vesiculosus'' and ''Fucus spi ...

'' in not having a serrated edge and unlike ''

Fucus vesiculosus ''Fucus vesiculosus'', known by the common names bladder wrack, black tang, rockweed, sea grapes, bladder fucus, sea oak, cut weed, dyers fucus, red fucus and rock wrack, is a seaweed found on the coasts of the North Sea, the western Baltic Se ...

'' it does not have air vesicles, however irregular swellings gives it a resemblance to ''F. vesiculosus''. ''

Fucus spiralis ''Fucus spiralis'' is a species of seaweed, a brown alga (Heterokontophyta, Phaeophyceae), living on the littoral shore of the Atlantic coasts of Europe and North America. It has the common names of spiral wrack and flat wrack. Description '' ...

'' has spirally twisted fronds.Newton, L. 1931. ''A Handbook of the British Seaweeds.'' British Museum, LondonHardy, F.G. and Guiry, M.D. 2003. ''A Check-list and Atlas of the Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.'' British Phycological Society

Distribution

Fucoids have no planktonic dispersal stages, restricting gamete dispersal. They can be found on the shores of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

including the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

and Shetland.

Habitat

''Fucus ceranoides'' is restricted to estuarine intertidal habitats under fluctuating salinities. The modern distribution of ''Fucus ceranoides'' ranges from Portugal to Norway and Iceland. This includes the rocky shores in the

generally where fresh water flows into the sea, brackish water in sheltered bays.

References

External links

* Species described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Fucaceae {{Phaeophyceae-stub