Lobophora variegata
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| Lobophora variegata | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific Sample of Zonaria Variegata. Credit: William Dana Hoyt, 1921 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Sar |
| Clade: | Stramenopiles |
| Division: | Ochrophyta |
| Class: | Phaeophyceae |
| Order: | Dictyotales |
| Family: | Dictyotaceae |
| Genus: | Lobophora |
| Species: | L. variegata |
| Binomial name | |
| Lobophora variegata J.V.Lamouroux, 1817[1] | |
| Synonyms | |
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Lobophora variegata is a species of small thalloid brown alga which grows intertidally or in shallow water in tropical and warm temperate seas. It has three basic forms, being sometimes ruffled, sometimes reclining and sometimes encrusting, and each form is typically found in a different habitat. This seaweed occurs worldwide. It is the type species of the genus Lobophora, the type locality being the Antilles in the West Indies.[2]
Lobophora variegata has three different morphological forms; an erect ruffled form, a decumbent or reclining form which grows flattened against the substrate and an encrusting form. Each of these forms may dominate its habitat.[3] This seaweed is generally greenish-brown or pale brown.[4] The sporangial sori are scattered across both surfaces of the thalli (fronds).[5] The ruffled form grows in ball-like clumps of wavy fronds as a result of the continued growth of the lateral blades. It is most often found in sandy areas and among turtle grass (Thalassia testudinem). It is usually anchored to the seabed or the prop roots of the red mangrove Rhizophora mangle by a holdfast, but it sometimes forms loose masses which roll about with the movement of the water.[3]
The decumbent form grows in overlapping flat blades which may cover large areas of the seabed with a roof-tile like pattern. It is most abundant on back reefs, on shallow patch reefs and on the lower surfaces of hard corals. In deeper water it forms thin semicircular plates projecting horizontally from vertical rock faces or from under overhangs.[3][6]
The encrusting form resembles Ralfsia and consists of irregular low-growing lobes attached to the substrate by a matted, rhizoidal holdfast. It grows in very shallow water on coral rubble, red mangrove prop roots and the waterlogged soils around mangroves.[3]