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Caulerpa sertularioides
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<h2 id="description">Description</h2> <p>The seaweed has a pale to dark-green <a href="/facts/Thallus/4FbF7wmC">thallus</a> that typically grows to outward to around 0.35 to 2 metres (1.15 to 6.56 ft).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> It has feather-like fronds that arise from a common stolon. Each of the fronds is upright and branched. The oppositely arranged branchlets are cylindrical to needle-shaped with upcurved tips with a blunt point at the end. Each branchlet has a length of 3 to 11 millimetres (0.118 to 0.433 in) and is attached to a cylindrical axis in the middle with a diameter of 1 to 1.5 mm (0.039 to 0.059 in). Each axis connects each frond to a creeping <a href="/facts/Stolon/dNDj2H9p">stolon</a> with a diameter of 2 to 2.5 mm (0.079 to 0.098 in) and a length of up to 2 metres (7 ft). Stolons are branched out to slim points and <a href="/facts/Rhizoid/dDgxHqSu">rhizoids</a> then form from bottom surface<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> these fork and penetrate the sandy substrate firmly anchoring the seaweed to the seafloor.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="taxonomy">Taxonomy</h2> <p>The species was first formally described by the botanist and taxonomist <a href="/facts/Marshall_Avery_Howe/czRR3HCW">Marshall Avery Howe</a> in 1905 as part of the work <i>Phycological studies - II. New Chlorophyceae, new Rhodophyceae and miscellaneous notes</i> as published in the <i>Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club</i>. The <a href="/facts/Basionym/wybFdcTN">basionym</a> is <i>Fucus sertularioides</i> as described by <a href="/facts/Samuel_Gottlieb_Gmelin/zUyg8TBV">Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin</a> in 1768.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="distribution">Distribution</h2> <p>The species is found widely through tropical waters. In the <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a> it is found from North Carolina to Florida. It is also found throughout the Caribbean around Bermuda, Bahamas, Greater and Lesser Antilles and in the <a href="/facts/Gulf_of_Mexico/bGE5s57G">Gulf of Mexico</a> and in the southern <a href="/facts/Atlantic_Ocean/EI4uChIb">Atlantic Ocean</a> to Brazil (Taylor 1979). It is also found in the <a href="/facts/Pacific_Ocean/bdxgXRVM">Pacific Ocean</a> along the <a href="/facts/Great_Barrier_Reef/3DkV4aad">Great Barrier Reef</a> in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and Palau.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> In Western Australia, it is found along the coast in the <a href="/facts/Kimberley_(Western_Australia)/Rmq4bDQI">Kimberley</a> region extending south to the <a href="/facts/Gascoyne/wChnq8Sh">Gascoyne</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p><p>The species is usually part of coastal and estuarine environments where it grows in sandy areas, as seagrass beds or on and around <a href="/facts/Mangrove/JreUUsuG">mangrove</a> roots. It is mostly found as a shallow-water specimen to depths of around 10 metres (33 ft) although sparse individuals have been taken from depths of up to 110 metres (361 ft).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Caulerpa sertularioides SG Gmelin Howe, 1905 Green Feather Alga". Indian River Lagoon Species Inventory. Smithsonian Institution. 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018. <a href="http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/cauler_sertul.htm" target="_blank">http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/cauler_sertul.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Green feather alga (Caulerpa sertularioides)". Interactive Guide to Caribbean Diving. Marine Species Identification. Retrieved 7 November 2018. <a href="https://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=caribbean_diving_guide&id=490" target="_blank">https://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=caribbean_diving_guide&id=490</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Caulerpa sertularioides". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. <a href="https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/26576" target="_blank">https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/26576</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Caulerpa sertularioides". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. <a href="https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/26576" target="_blank">https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/26576</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Caulerpa sertularioides SG Gmelin Howe, 1905 Green Feather Alga". Indian River Lagoon Species Inventory. Smithsonian Institution. 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018. <a href="http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/cauler_sertul.htm" target="_blank">http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/cauler_sertul.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Green feather alga (Caulerpa sertularioides)". Interactive Guide to Caribbean Diving. Marine Species Identification. Retrieved 7 November 2018. <a href="https://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=caribbean_diving_guide&id=490" target="_blank">https://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=caribbean_diving_guide&id=490</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. (2018). "Caulerpa sertularioides (S.G.Gmelin) M.Howe". AlgaeBase. National University of Ireland, Galway. Retrieved 7 November 2018. <a href="http://www.algaebase.org/search/species/detail/?species_id=1412" target="_blank">http://www.algaebase.org/search/species/detail/?species_id=1412</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Caulerpa sertularioides SG Gmelin Howe, 1905 Green Feather Alga". Indian River Lagoon Species Inventory. Smithsonian Institution. 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018. <a href="http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/cauler_sertul.htm" target="_blank">http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/cauler_sertul.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Caulerpa sertularioides". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. <a href="https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/26576" target="_blank">https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/26576</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Caulerpa sertularioides SG Gmelin Howe, 1905 Green Feather Alga". Indian River Lagoon Species Inventory. Smithsonian Institution. 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018. <a href="http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/cauler_sertul.htm" target="_blank">http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/cauler_sertul.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>