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Name derivation:
‘Sea Feather’ Gr. Hali- sea, ptilon feather
Classification:
Haliptilon (Decaisne) Lindley 1846; 2 of 23 species descriptions are currently accepted taxonomically (Guiry and Guiry 2016). Order Corallinales; Family Corallinaceae
Morphology:
Erect highly calcified thallus, articulate with repeated branches, with several axes and a basal crust. Branching dichotomous to pinnate, segments compressed. Relatively small, a few mm to ~4 cm tall. Dioecious gametophytes (Dawes and Mathieson 2008).
Similar genera:
Habitat:
Tropical marine coasts, usually epilithic on limestone; reported from Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, eastern tropical Atlantic, Pakistan and the Philippines (Ibid.). Also Mediterranean Sea.
References:
Dawes, C.J. and A.C. Mathieson 2008. Seaweeds of Florida. University Press of Florida (592 pp). Guiry, M.D. and G.M. Guiry 2014. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org; searched on 30 May 2014. Lindley J. 1846. The vegetable kingdom; or, the structure, classification, and uses of plants, illustrated upon the natural system...with upwards of five hundred illustrations. pp. [i], [frontisp. = p. ii], p. [iii]-lxviii, [1]-908, text-figs 1-526. London: published for the author, by Bradbury & Evans.