CHROMOPHYTA : Dictyotales : DictyotaceaeBROWN ALGAE

Padina pavonica (Linnaeus) Thivy


Description: Frond to 10 cms long, leafy and fan-shaped without a mid-rib and with few divisions. The distal edge is inrolled and appearing banded.

Habitat: Lower littoral rock pools and sublittoral.

Distribution: Southern shores of Ireland and England and the Channel Islands. Europe: Mediterranean, Azores, Portugal, Atlantic coasts of Spain and France. Further afield: Salvage Islands, Canary Islands, Mauritania, Senegal, Gabon, Zaire, Cape Verde Islands, Angola, Ascension and St Helena.

Key Identification Features:

  • The fan-shaped thallus is quite peculiar to the species.

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

iNaturalist: Padina pavonica at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

WoRMS: Padina pavonica at World Register of Marine Species.

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 Morton, O., Keatley, L., Morrow, C.C. & Picton, B.E. (2026). Padina pavonica. (Linnaeus) Thivy. [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland.
https://habitas.org/mbdp/species.php?item=ZR4680. Accessed on 2026-11-01