''Vanvoorstia bennettiana'' (Bennett's seaweed) is an
extinct red algae from
Australia. It is named after naturalist
George Bennett.
[William Henry Harvey: Phycologia Australica; or a History of Australian Seaweeds Volume 2. Lovel Reeve, London, 1859]
Biology
''Vanvoorstia bennetiana'' was a small
red algae. Like other members of its genus, ''V. bennettiana'' did not have significant differences in morphology throughout any phase of its
life cycle
Life cycle, life-cycle, or lifecycle may refer to:
Science and academia
*Biological life cycle, the sequence of life stages that an organism undergoes from birth to reproduction ending with the production of the offspring
* Life-cycle hypothesis ...
.
It can be distinguished from other members of its genus by its small size and by the structure of its reproductive organs.
[ ] The overall structure of the algae is that of a blade with fine meshing.
For much of the time it was extant, the algae was common.
The algae has only been found in two localities; both in or near
Sydney Harbour. One was near the eastern part of
Spectacle Island, where it was discovered between May 1 and May 15, 1855.
The other was in a channel between
Point Piper
Point Piper is a small, harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, east of the Sydney CBD, in the local government area known as the Municipality of Woollahra.
Point Piper has been historically r ...
and
Shark Island,
where numerous specimens were collected in 1886.
Extinction
Since the ''V. bennettiana'' discovery, Sydney Harbour has been massively altered by human activities. These activities substantially increased the
siltation
Siltation, is water pollution caused by particulate Terrestrial ecoregion, terrestrial Clastic rock, clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the ...
level in Sydney Harbour. Fine-meshed algae species are especially vulnerable to this type of disturbance because the particulate matter can often clog the blade and prevent light necessary for photosynthesis from reaching the organism.
A search by Arthur Lucas in 1916 failed to find the species. Since it had been only found in two places, ''V. bennettiana'' became extinct by then. The causes were human disturbance,
habitat destruction
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
, and
pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...
.
[ Searches along the entire coastline of ]New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
failed to locate the species.[
''Vanvoorstia bennettiana'' was, until an update in 2007, the only ]protist
A protist () is any eukaryotic organism (that is, an organism whose cells contain a cell nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus. While it is likely that protists share a common ancestor (the last eukaryotic common ancestor), the exc ...
anywhere on the IUCN's Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...
.[ ]
References
External links
Page at the Extinction Website including a picture
{{Taxonbar, from=Q293321
Delesseriaceae
Algae of Australia
Extinct biota of Australia