RHODOPHYTA : Ceramiales : WrangeliaceaeRED ALGAE

Halurus equisetifolius (Lightfoot) Kützing


Description: Thallus erect, growing to 20 cms long, cylindrical with whorl-branching. Densely clothed with imbricate whorls which devide 1 - 3 times.

Habitat: Epilithic in rock pools in the lower littoral and sublittoral to 14 m.

Distribution: Common in the British Isles specially in the south-west, rarer in Scotland and the east coast of England. Europe: Portugal, Spain and France. Further afield: Canary Islands, Mauritania and Argentina.

Similar Species: Dasya hutchinsiae and Aglaothamnion sepositum these have spiral rather than whorled branchlets. Sphondylothamnion multifidum has widely spaced whorls.

Key Identification Features:

  • Dense overlapping whorls.

Distribution Map from NBN: Halurus equisetifolius at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Halurus equisetifolius at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

WoRMS: Halurus equisetifolius at World Register of Marine Species.

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 Morton, O., Keatley, L., Morrow, C.C. & Picton, B.E. (2026). Halurus equisetifolius. (Lightfoot) Kützing. [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland.
https://habitas.org/mbdp/species.php?item=ZM8560. Accessed on 2026-11-01