#1066 - 1073 - Coralline Algae
#1066 - Corallina officinalis
Coralline Red Algae are very common and important small seaweeds, so it’s a little ironic that Corallina officinalis, the classic fishbone-like coralline, was actually the last one I found. Alive, they’re a bright pink, but dry to white rapidly, and stay intact because of the high aragonite content. The dense tufts can create a thick algal turf on rocky shores, down to about 33 meters.
Sea urchins, parrot fish, limpets and chitons are just some of the animals that feed on coralline algae. More hide among the tufts. All corallines start as encrusting growths, but many develop into delicate fronds as above. Others remain as massive or encrusting forms, resembling pink boulders or splashes of paint on rocks. They don’t grow very quickly, but they’re tough enough to eventually crowd out other plants. Some are even parasitic on other corallines.
Falcon, Perth
#1067 - Amphirhoa sp.
Another coralline, often found as an epiphyte on Amphibolis seagrass stems, with much larger, longer segments than Corallina.
Port Kennedy, Perth
#1068 - Haliptilon roseum
Another bright pink (note the species name) coralline, bleached white by the sun. Grows as a turf on shallow rocks, and on isolated rock and Amphibolis stems in deeper water. From from Kalbarri, W. Aust., around southern Australia to Port Denison, Qld, Tasmania, New Zealand, and possibly Juan Fernandez Island. There have been many species put into the Haliptilon genus, but around southern Australia at least they all turned out to be H. roseum.
Safety Bay, Perth
#1069 - Jania sp.
Another turf-forming coralline, whose densely growing tufts curve as they divide, unlike the fish-bone Corallina. Note the pink colour of this living tuft at Halls Head, on the limestone platform.
#1070 - Metagoniolithon chara
A richly coloured and robust coralline epiphyte of Amphibolis seagrass.
Safety Bay, Perth
#1071 - Metagoniolithon stelliferum
Another epiphyte of wireweed seagrass, but with a different growth form than that of its sister species M. chara. In this species, each segment splits into four or more often five or more further segments, unlike the more restrained proliferation of M. chara’s more robust fronds.
Port Kennedy, Perth
#1072 - Neogoniolithon sp.
An encrusting pink coralline algae, in this case growing so thickly around an Ecklonia holdfast that it looks like the rock that the kelp originally attached to.
Dawesville, Perth
#1073 - Encrusting Pink Coralline
Another encrusting pink coralline algae on an Ecklonia holdfast - but this one, unlike the massively encrusting species previously, only forms thin patches. Actually, that might just mean that it's still young, but I found them on the same day, so you'd think an entire growing season would make a difference.
Dawesville, Perth
Coralline Red Algae are very common and important small seaweeds, so it’s a little ironic that Corallina officinalis, the classic fishbone-like coralline, was actually the last one I found. Alive, they’re a bright pink, but dry to white rapidly, and stay intact because of the high aragonite content. The dense tufts can create a thick algal turf on rocky shores, down to about 33 meters.
Sea urchins, parrot fish, limpets and chitons are just some of the animals that feed on coralline algae. More hide among the tufts. All corallines start as encrusting growths, but many develop into delicate fronds as above. Others remain as massive or encrusting forms, resembling pink boulders or splashes of paint on rocks. They don’t grow very quickly, but they’re tough enough to eventually crowd out other plants. Some are even parasitic on other corallines.
Falcon, Perth
#1067 - Amphirhoa sp.
Another coralline, often found as an epiphyte on Amphibolis seagrass stems, with much larger, longer segments than Corallina.
Port Kennedy, Perth
#1068 - Haliptilon roseum
Another bright pink (note the species name) coralline, bleached white by the sun. Grows as a turf on shallow rocks, and on isolated rock and Amphibolis stems in deeper water. From from Kalbarri, W. Aust., around southern Australia to Port Denison, Qld, Tasmania, New Zealand, and possibly Juan Fernandez Island. There have been many species put into the Haliptilon genus, but around southern Australia at least they all turned out to be H. roseum.
Safety Bay, Perth
#1069 - Jania sp.
Another turf-forming coralline, whose densely growing tufts curve as they divide, unlike the fish-bone Corallina. Note the pink colour of this living tuft at Halls Head, on the limestone platform.
#1070 - Metagoniolithon chara
A richly coloured and robust coralline epiphyte of Amphibolis seagrass.
Safety Bay, Perth
#1071 - Metagoniolithon stelliferum
Another epiphyte of wireweed seagrass, but with a different growth form than that of its sister species M. chara. In this species, each segment splits into four or more often five or more further segments, unlike the more restrained proliferation of M. chara’s more robust fronds.
Port Kennedy, Perth
#1072 - Neogoniolithon sp.
An encrusting pink coralline algae, in this case growing so thickly around an Ecklonia holdfast that it looks like the rock that the kelp originally attached to.
Dawesville, Perth
#1073 - Encrusting Pink Coralline
Another encrusting pink coralline algae on an Ecklonia holdfast - but this one, unlike the massively encrusting species previously, only forms thin patches. Actually, that might just mean that it's still young, but I found them on the same day, so you'd think an entire growing season would make a difference.
Dawesville, Perth