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Halimeda
tuna (J.Ellis & Solander) J.V.Lamouroux

Halimeda tuna
(J.Ellis & Solander) J.V.Lamouroux
(detailed information)


Species Details
Class:	Ulvophyceae (ex Bryopsidophyceae)
Genus:	Halimeda J.V.Lamouroux
Species:	Halimeda tuna
Authority:	(J.Ellis & Solander) J.V.Lamouroux
Description:	Thallus calcified, distinctly segmented with initial branching in one plane. Segments disc-like to triangular, up to 2 cm wide. Internodal siphons uncalcified, united in twos or threes, and terminating in pseudodichotomous laterals. Surface cells appressed to one another in a honeycomb pattern, 25-75 μm in diameter. Original publication: Lamouroux, J.V.F. (1816). Histoire des polypiers coralligènes flexibles, vulgairement nommés zoophytes. pp. [i]-lxxxiv, chart, [1]-560, [560, err], pls I-XIX, uncol. by author. Caen: De l'imprimerie de F. Poisson. Download PDF from Algaebase

Name History	Noun (Latin), from Spanish taino: the name for a flat, jointed prickly cactus of the genus Opuntia (Dawes & Mathieson 2008).
Biogeography	Europe (Adriatic, France, Italy, and Spain), Atlantic Islands (Bermuda), North America (Florida and Mexico), Central America (Belize and Panama), Caribbean, Brazil, Africa (Tunisia), South-west Asia (Levant states and Sri Lanka), Australia and New Zealand.
References	Ballesteros, E. (1991). Seasonality of growth and production of a deep-water population of Halimeda tuna (Chlorophyceae, Caulerpales) in the north-western Mediterranean. Botanica Marina 34: 291-301, 7 figs, 6 tables. Colombo, P.M. & Orsenigo, M. (1977). Sea depth effects on the algal photosynthetic apparatus II. An electron microscopic study of the photosynthetic apparatus of Halimeda tuna (Chlorophyta, Siphonales) at -0.5 m and -6.0 m sea depths. Phycologia 16: 9-17. Edelstein, T. & Komarovsky, B. (1961). Epiphytic algae on Halimeda tuna f. platydisca (Decaisne) Barton in Haifa bay. Bull. Res. Co. Israel. Sec D. Botany. 10D: 54-58, Plates I-III. Mariani Colombo, P. & Orsenigo, M. (1977). Sea depth effects on the algal photosynthetic apparatus. II. An electron microscopic study of the photosynthetic apparatus of Halimeda tuna (Chlorophyta, Siphonales) at -0.5m and -6.0m sea depths. Phycologia 16: 9-17, 14 figs, 5 tables. Meinesz, A. (1972). Sur le cycle de l'Halimeda tuna (Ellis etr Solander) Lamouroux (Udotéacée, Caulerpale). Compte Rendu Hebdomadaire des Séances de l’Académie des Sciences. Paris. Série D 275: 1363-1365. Ribera, M.A. & Gómez Garreta, A. (1987). Presència de Halimeda tuna (Ellis & Solander) Lamouroux forma albertisii Piccone a les Balears. Actes I Jornades del Medi Ambient de Balears 37: Smith, J.E., Smith, C.M., Vroom, P.S., Beach, K.S. & Miller, S. (2004). Nutrient and growth dynamics of Halimeda tuna on Conch Reef, Florida Keys: possible influence of internal tides on nutrient status and physiology. Limnology and Oceanography 49: 1923-1936. Vroom, P.S., Smith, C.S., Coyer, J.A., Walters, L.J., Hunter, C.L., Beach, K.S. & Smith, J.E. (2003). Field biology of Halimeda tuna (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) across a depth gradient: comparative growth, survivorship, recruitment, and reproduction. Hydrobiologia 501: 149-166.

Habitat:	Found on hard rocky substratum less than 2 m depth.
Type information:	Type species: This is the type species (holotype) of the genus Halimeda. Basionym: Corallina tuna J.Ellis & Solander Type locality: Mediterranean Sea (Silva, Basson & Moe 1996: 872).