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Ralfsia sp. (Tar spot, sea fungus)
Copyright © 2007 Jan Holmes
At first glance the black or dark brown splotches of "tar spot" seaweeds look like the dried up remains of an oil spill. Several green brown and red seaweeds utilize this morphology as sporophyte, gametophyte or both life phases. Ralfsia is a brown seaweed. The outer margins of Ralfsia have a rimmed or lobed appearance with patches often overlapping each other like a fungus or lichen. The edges of Ralfsia can also be pryed up with little effort whereas most other tar spot types adhere strongly to their substrates. Ralfsia is found in the mid to lower intertidal on moderate to exposed shorelines.
This
page was created by Jan Holmes on 1/6/07.
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