Rhodochorton purpureum (Lightfoot) Rosenvinge
Classification:
Empire Eukaryota
Kingdom Plantae
Subkingdom Biliphyta
Phylum Rhodophycophyta
Subphylum Eurhodophytina
Class Florideophyceae
Subclass Rhodymeniophycidae
Order Acrochaetiales
Family Acrochaetiaceae
Genus Rhodochorton
Pictures:
click on thumbnail for larger version.
Spain, Galicia, A Coruña, Ría de A Coruña, 1992, upper intertidal. Ignacio Bárbara. © Ignacio Bárbara.
North Portugal, Viana do Castelo, upper intertidal, 2002. Ignacio Bárbara. © Ignacio Bárbara.
Spiddal, Co. Galway, Ireland; turf at MHWN. 26 Jan 2008. Michael Guiry. © Michael Guiry.
Spiddal, Co. Galway, Ireland; tufted plants at MHWN. 26 Jan 2008. Michael Guiry. © Michael Guiry.
Rhodochorton purpureum (Lightfoot) Rosenvinge Spiddal, Co. Galway, Ireland; tufted plants at MHWN
Publication details
Rhodochorton purpureum (Lightfoot) Rosenvinge 1900: 75
Original publication: Rosenvinge, L.K. (1900). Note sur une Floridée aérienne (Rhodochorton islandicum nov. sp.). Botanisk Tidsskrift 23(1): 61-81.
Type species
The type species (lectotype) of the genus Rhodochorton is Rhodochorton rothii (Turton) Nägeli.
Status of name
This name is of an entity that is currently accepted taxonomically.
Basionym
Byssus purpurea Lightfoot
Type information
Type locality: ‘Upon the base of the Abbott MacKinnon’s tomb in the ruined Abbey at Y-Columb-Kill’ Type: Probably destroyed (Conway & Knaggs, 1966) Notes: The Abbott MacKinnon’s tomb has now been enclosed and no trace of the original population remains (fide David Fewer).
Origin of species name
Adjective (Latin), purple (Stearn 1973).
Homotypic Synonym(s)
Byssus purpurea Lightfoot 1777
Conferva purpurea (Lightfoot) Dillwyn 1802
Trentepohlia purpurea (Lightfoot) C.Agardh 1824
Callithamnion purpureum (Lightfoot) Harvey 1841
Audouinella purpurea (Lightfoot) Woelkerling 1973
Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Byssus rubra Hudson 1778
Conferva violacea Roth 1797
Conferva rothii Turton 1806
Callithamnion rothii (Turton) Lyngbye 1819
Ceramium rothi (Turton) Berkeley 1833
Trentepohlia rothii (Turton) Harvey 1836
Rhodochorton rothii (Turton) Nägeli 1862
Thamnidium rothi (Turton) Thuret 1863
Thamnidium rothii (Turton) Thuret 1863
Thamnidium intermedium Kjellman 1875
Rhodochorton intermedium (Kjellman) Kjellman 1883
Rhodochorton rothii var. typicum Kjellmann 1883
Rhodochorton rothii f. typicum Kjellman 1883
Rhodochorton parasiticum Batters 1896
Rhodochorton islandicum Rosenvinge 1900
Rhodochorton tenue Kylin 1925
Rhodochorton rothii f. kjellmanii Hamel 1927
Rhodochorton bisporiferum Baardseth 1941
Rhodochorton purpureum f. rothi (Turton) Lund 1959
Rhodochorton purpureum f. intermedium (Kjellman) Lund 1959
Audouinella islandica (Rosenvinge) G.R.South & Tittley 1986
General environment
This is a Marine species.
Description
Plants forming matted purplish-red tufts or a thin turf of sparingly branched, erect filaments, 5-10 mm long. Cells 3-4 times as long as broad. Cells with a single reticulate plastid without pyrenoids, later fragmented. Reproducing by tetrasporangia, mostly in winter. Monosporangia absent.
Habitat
On rock or epiphytic (especially on Laminaria hyperborea stipes), upper infralittoral to subtidal, often in caves and shady crevices. Widely distributed, common.
Key characteristics
Turf-forming habit and association with upper intertidal, shaded habitats or Laminaria hyperborea stipes. Absence of monosporangia.
Similar species
Rhodothamniella floridula, which forms more extensive turfs. Microscopic examination (for the presence or absence of pyrenoids) is required to be certain of the identity of this species.
Detailed distribution with sources
(as Byssus purpurea Lightfoot)
Europe: Britain (Dixon 1983).
(as Rhodochorton rothii (Turton) Nägeli)
Ireland: Mayo (Cotton 1912), Wexford (Cotton 1913).
Europe: Adriatic (Giaccone 1978), Britain (Newton 1931), Ireland (Cotton 1912, Cotton 1913), Italy (Giaccone 1969), Spain (Miranda 1931), Sweden (Kylin 1907, Kylin 1944).
Africa: Morocco (Dangeard 1949).
(as Thamnidium intermedium Kjellman)
Europe: Spitsbergen (Kjellman 1875).
(as Rhodochorton parasiticum Batters)
Ireland: Mayo (Cotton 1912).
Europe: Britain (Cotton 1912), Ireland (Cotton 1912).
(as Rhodochorton purpureum (Lightfoot) Rosenvinge)
Arctic: Canada (Arctic) (Taylor 1957).
Ireland: Cork (Cullinane 1971), Donegal (Morton 2003), Louth (Synnott 1969), Wexford (Norton 1970).
Europe: Baltic Sea (Nielsen et al. 1995), Britain (Hardy & Guiry 2003), E. Greenland (Lund 1959, Pedersen 1976), Faroes (Nielsen & Gunnarsson 2001), France (Feldmann 1954, Coppejans 1995), Greece (Gerloff & Geissler 1974, Haritonidis & Tsekos 1976, Tsekos & Haritonidis 1977), Helgoland (Bartsch & Kuhlenkamp 2000), Iceland (Caram & Jónsson 1972), Ireland (Cullinane 1971), Netherlands (Stegenga & Mol 1983), Portugal (Ardré 1970, Araújo et al., 2003, Araujo et al. 2009, Araújo, Bárbara & Sousa-Pinto in press), Scandinavia (Athanasiadis 1996), Spain (Granja, Cremades & Barbara 1992, Bárbara & Cremades 1996, Veiga, Cremades & Bárbara 1998, Valenzuela Miranda 2002, Bárbara et al. 2005), Sweden (Tolstoy & Österlund 2003).
Atlantic Islands: Azores (Neto 1994), Canary Islands (John et al. 2004).
North America: Alaska (Lindstrom 1977), California (Abbott & Hollenberg 1976, Silva 1979, Stewart 1991), Mexico (Dawson 1953), New Brunswick (Bates et al. 2005), New Jersey (Taylor 1957), Nova Scotia (Taylor 1957).
Africa: Mauritania (John et al. 2004).
Asia: Japan (Yoshida 1998), Korea (Lee & Kang 2001, Lee 2008), Russia (Perestenko 1980).
Antarctic and the subantarctic islands: Antarctic Peninsula (Hommersand et al. 2009 
), Antarctica (Papenfuss 1964), Macquarie Island (Ricker 1987).
(as Rhodochorton bisporiferum Baardseth)
Atlantic Islands: Tristan da Cunha (Baardseth 1941).
(as Rhodochorton purpureum f. rothi (Turton) Lund)
Europe: E. Greenland (Lund 1959).
(as Rhodochorton purpureum f. intermedium (Kjellman) Lund)
Europe: E. Greenland (Lund 1959).
(as Audouinella purpurea (Lightfoot) Woelkerling)
Arctic: Canada (Arctic) (Lee 1980).
Ireland: Antrim (Morton 1994), Derry (Morton 1994), Down (Morton 1994).
Europe: Britain (Dixon & Irvine 1977, Guiry 1997), Faroes (Irvine 1982), France (Dizerbo & Herpe 2007), Greece (Athanasiadis 1987), Ireland (Dixon & Irvine 1977, Guiry 1978, Morton 1994), Italy (Furnari, Cormaci & Serio 1999, Furnari et al. 2003, Furnari et al. 2003, Furnari et al. 2003, Báez et al 2005a), Norway (Rueness 1997), Spain (Gallardo et al. 1985), Spitsbergen (Vinogradova 1995).
Atlantic Islands: Canary Islands (Price, John & Lawson 1986).
North America: Alaska (Scagel et al. 1989), British Columbia (Scagel et al. 1989), California (Scagel et al. 1989), Maine (Mathieson et al. 2001), New Hampshire (Mathieson & Hehre 1986), Oregon (Hansen 1997), Washington (Scagel et al. 1989).
South America: Chile (Ramírez & Santelices 1991).
Africa: Mauritania (Price, John & Lawson 1986).
Asia: Commander Islands (Selivanova & Zhigadlova 1997), Japan (Yoshida, Nakajima & Nakata 1990).
Australia and New Zealand: New South Wales (Millar & Kraft 1993), New Zealand (Adams 1994, Nelson & Phillips 1996).
Antarctic and the subantarctic islands: Antarctica (Wiencke & Clayton 2002), Macquarie Island (Wiencke & Clayton 2002), South Shetland Islands (Wiencke & Clayton 2002).
Key references
Garbary, D.J. (1987). The Acrochaetiaceae (Rhodophyta): an annotated bibliography. Bibliotheca Phycologica 77: 1-267, 2 tables.
Harper, J.T. & Saunders, G.W. (2002). A re-classification of the Acrochaetiales based on molecular and morphological data, and establishment of the Colaconematales, ord. nov.. British Phycological Journal 37: 463-475.
Hollenberg, G.J. & Abbott, I.A. (1966). Supplement to Smith's marine algae of the Monterey Peninsula. pp. ix (xii), 1-130, 53 figs. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
West, J.A. (1969). The life histories of Rhodochorton purpureum and R. tenue in culture. Journal of Phycology 5: 12-21.
Zeng, C. (Tseng, C.K.), Luan, R., Chen, Z. & Li, W. (2000). Flora algarum marinarum sinicarum Tomus II Rhodophyta No. II Acrochaetiales Nemaliales Bonnemaisoniales. pp. [i-vii], i-xxiii, 1-180, , pls I-VIII. Beijing: Science Press.
SAG Cultures
No records have been found on the SAG site.
NCBI Nucleotide Sequences
Created: 30 March 1996 by M.D. Guiry
Verified by: 18 August 2009 by Wendy Guiry
Accesses: This record has been accessed by users 3679 times since it was created.
References
(Please note: only references with the binomials in the title are included. The information is from the Literature database.)
Breeman, A.M. & Hoeksema, B.W. (1987). Vegetative propagation of the red alga Rhodochorton purpureum by means of fragments that escape digestion by herbivores. Marine Ecology Progress Series 35: 197-201.
Breeman, A.M., Bos, S., van Essen, S. & van Mulekom, L.L. (1984). Light-dark regimes in the intertidal zone and tetrasporangial periodicity in the red alga Rhodochorton purpureum. Helgoländer Meeresuntersuchungen 38: 365-387.
Conway, E. & Knaggs, F.W. (1966). Contributions to our knowledge of the genus Rhodochorton: I. R. purpureum. In: Some Contemporary Studies in Marine Science. (Barnes, H. Eds), pp. 195-203. London: Allen & Unwin.
Dring, M.J. & West, J.A. (1983). Photoperiodic control of tetrasporangium formation in the red alga Rhodochorton purpureum. Planta 159: 143-150.
Knaggs, F.W. (). Rhodochorton purpureum (Lightf.) Rosenvinge Observations on the relationship between morphology and environment II. Nova Hedwiga 11: 337-349, 3 plates.
Knaggs, F.W. (). Rhodochorton purpureum (Lightf.) Rosenvinge Observations on the relationship between reproduction and environment I. The relationship between the energy of incident light and tetrasporangium production. Nova Hedwigia 11: 405-411, 6 tables.
Knaggs, F.W. (1966). Rhodochorton purpureum (Lightf.) Rosenvinge. Observations on the relationship between morphology and environment III. Nova Hedwigia 12(3/4): 521-528, 6 plates.
Knaggs, F.W. (1967). Modified sporangia on the tetrasporophyte of Rhodochorton purpureum (Lightf.) Rosenv.. Nova Hedwigia 13(1/2): 139-143.
Knaggs, F.W. (1967). Review of the world distribution and ecology of Rhodochorton purpureum (Lightf.) Rosenvinge. Nova Hedwigia 14: 549-570.
Knaggs, F.W. (1968). Rhodochorton purpureum (Lightf.) Rosenvinge. The morphology of the gametophytes and of the young carposporophytes. Nova Hedwigia 16: 449-457.
Lee, Y.-P. (1985). Notes on reproduction in Rhodochorton purpureum (Lightfoot) Rosenvinge (Rhodophyta) with special reference to Hokkaido plants. Korean Journal of Botany 28: 45-55.
Lichtlé, C. (1973). Dégénérescence du plaste du Rhodochorton purpureum (Ligft.) Rosenvinge. Rhodophycée. Acrochaétiale. Compte Rendu Hebdomadaire des Séances de lAcadémie des Sciences. Paris. Série D 277: 2341-2344.
Lichtlé, C. (1973). Ultrastructure du plaste de deux Rhodophycées: Rhodochorton purpureum (Lighft.) Rosenvinge et Rhodothamniella floridula (Dillwyn) J. Feldmann. Compte Rendu Hebdomadaire des Séances de lAcadémie des Sciences. Paris. Série D 277: 1865-1868.
Nienhuis, P.H. (1968). Aantekeningen over zee- en brakwaterwieren. I. Hoe algemeen is Rhodochorton purpureum in zwak brakke en terrestrische habitats?. Zeepard 28: 47-53.
Ohta, M. & Kurogi, M. (1979). On the life history of Rhodochorton purpureum (Lightf.) Rosenvinge from Hokkaido in culture. Japanese Journal of Phycology 27: 161-167.
Pearlmutter, N.L. & Vadas, R.L. (1978). Regeneration of thallus fragments of Rhodochorton purpureum (Rhodophyceae, Nemalionales). Phycologia 17: 186-190.
Stegenga, H. (1978). Life histories of Rhodochorton purpureum and Rhodochorton floridulum (Rhodophyta, Nemaliales) in culture. British Phycological Journal 13: 279-289.
West, J.A. (1969). The life histories of Rhodochorton purpureum and R. tenue in culture. Journal of Phycology 5: 12-21.
West, J.A. (1970). A monoecious isolate of Rhodochorton purpureum. Journal of Phycology 6: 368-370.
West, J.A. (1972). Environmental regulation of reproduction in Rhodochorton purpureum. In: Contributions to the Systematics of Benthic Marine Algae of the North Pacific. (Abbott, I.A. & Kurogi, M. Eds), pp. 213-230. Kobe, Japan: Japanese Society of Phycology.
