RHODOPHYTA : Ceramiales : DelesseriaceaeRED ALGAE

Phycodrys rubens (Linnaeus) Batters


Description: Thallus a group of blades up to 20 cms long attached by a single stipe, each blade with a prominent midrib and paired latteral veins. Monostromic laminae with dentate margins which may extend into long fringes.

Habitat: Epilithic and epiphytic in rock pools of the low-littoral into the sublittoral to 30 m. Commonly found epiphytic on the stipes of Laminaria hyperborea.

Distribution: Generally distributed around the British Isles including the Shetlands and the Channel Islands. Europe: Portugal, Spain, France, Denmark, Germany in the Baltic Sea, Sweden, Norway, Faroes, Spitzbergen and Iceland. Greenland. Atlantic coast of North America: Canada, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Jersey. Further afield: Arctic Sea including the American Arctic Sea and Baffin Bay.

Similar Species: Delesseria sanguinea is similar but easily distinguished from Phycodrys rubens which has a dentate or lobed margin.

Key Identification Features:

  • Blades like oak leaves in shape.

Distribution Map from NBN: Phycodrys rubens at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Phycodrys rubens at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

WoRMS: Phycodrys rubens at World Register of Marine Species. Accepted name: Phycodrys rubens (Linnaeus) Batters, 1902. AphiaID: 144773.

Classification: Biota; Plantae; Biliphyta; Rhodophyta; Eurhodophytina; Florideophyceae; Rhodymeniophycidae; Ceramiales; Delesseriaceae; Nitophylloideae; Phycodryeae; Phycodrys

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 Morton, O. & Picton, B.E. (2024). Phycodrys rubens. (Linnaeus) Batters. [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland.
https://www2.habitas.org.uk/marbiop-ni/speciesaccounts.php?item=ZM10120. Accessed on 2024-07-04