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Padina gymnospora
Padina gymnospora (Kützing) Sonder, 1871
Funnelweed
Padina gymnospora
photo by Poppe, Guido and Philippe

Family:  Dictyotaceae ()
Max. size:  6.5 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  sessile; brackish; marine; depth range 0 - 14 m
Distribution:  Atlantic Ocean: from North Carolina, USA south to Brazil including the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and Bermuda, east to Salvage (Selvagens) Islands and south to Angola, including the Mediterranean (Israel), Canary, Cape Verde and Ascension Island; Indian Ocean: In the Arabian Sea south to South Africa, including the Persian Gulf, Seychelles, Madagascar and Réunion, east to India and south to Western Australia including Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea; Pacific Ocean: from Korea to the South China Sea south to Queensland, Australia, east to Hawaiian Islands including Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji and Samoan Archipelago.
Diagnosis:  Thalli, attached by a small stupose rhizoidal base, are to 6.5 cm high, flabellate and composed of several lobes with inrolled margins. The superior surface (the side toward which the margin is inrolled) is slightly to moderately calcified. Thalli are olive-brown in colour. In transverse section the thallus is composed of 4-6 layers of cells in the mid-regions and up to 8-9 layers near the base. Hair rows are present on both sides of the thallus, but more conspicuous on the inferior side of the thallus. Tetrasporangia are arranged in concentric lines, above each hair row, mainly (but not exclusively) developed on the superior surface. An evanescent indusium is present but is usually only clearly visible in very young sori. Tetrasporangia are ovoid, up to 100 μm long and 70 μm wide. Gametophytes were not observed (Ref. 82093).
Biology:  Padina gymnospora is characterised by the thick thallus (up to 8 cell layers), the distribution of sporangia primarily on the superior surface of the thallus and the evanescent indusium (Allender and Kraft 1983, Womersley 1987) (Ref. 82093). Specimens are collected in shallow pools in the sublittoral fringe (Ref. 82093).
IUCN Red List Status: Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. 123251)
Threat to humans: 
Country info:   
 

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