CHLOROPHYTA : Cladophorales : CladophoraceaeGREEN ALGAE

Rhizoclonium tortuosum (Dillwyn) Kützing


Description: Fine prostrate unbranched entangled filaments up to 15 cms long, rigid to the touch.

Habitat: Abundant. On mud, sand and rock in the upper littoral.

Distribution: Widely distributed in the British Isles from the Shetlands to Lundy. Europe: Mediterranean, France, Netherlands, Baltic Sea. Atlantic coast of North America: New York, North Carolina. Further afield: west coast of Greenland in Baffin Bay, the Canary Islands, Bermuda and the Pacific from California.

Similar Species: Rhiozoclonium riparium.

Key Identification Features:

  • The genus can be distinguished by the presence of rhizoidal branchlets.

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

iNaturalist: Rhizoclonium tortuosum at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

WoRMS: Rhizoclonium tortuosum at World Register of Marine Species.

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 Morton, O., Keatley, L., Morrow, C.C. & Picton, B.E. (2026). Rhizoclonium tortuosum. (Dillwyn) Kützing. [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland.
https://habitas.org/mbdp/species.php?item=ZS3650. Accessed on 2026-11-01