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Green Algae of Zihuatanejo

PHYLUM CHLOROPHYTA

-Plants (Kingdom Plantae)

-Green Algae (Phylum Chlorophyta)

-Ulvophycean Green Algae (Class Ulvophyceae)

-Order Cladophorales

-Family Cladophoraceae

-Genus Chaetomorpha

-Antennate Bristle Alga (Chaetomorpha antennina)


Chaetomorpha is a genus of green algae in the family Cladophoraceae. Chaetomorpha grows in unbranched, coarse, hair-like filaments that resemble long green threads or spaghetti. Each filament is a single row of cylindrical cells; the algae is multicellular but without true tissue differentiation.

Antennate Bristle Alga
(Chaetomorpha antennina)

Range

  • Widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific and the tropical eastern Pacific.

  • Along the eastern Pacific, it occurs from the Gulf of California south through the Pacific coast of Mexico, Central America, and South America.

  • Common along the Pacific coast of Guerrero, including the Zihuatanejo region, where it grows on wave-exposed rocky shores and reefs.

Habitat

  • Grows attached to rocks, reef platforms, tide pools, coral rubble, jetties, and other hard substrates.

  • Most common in the upper and mid-intertidal zones, but also occurs in shallow subtidal waters to depths of approximately 10 m (33 ft).

  • Forms dense tufts or mats in areas exposed to moderate to strong wave action.

Size

  • Filament length: 10–40 cm (4–16 in), occasionally longer in sheltered locations.

  • Filament diameter: 0.5–1.5 mm.

  • Colonies may form dense clumps exceeding 50 cm (20 in) across.


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