Sargassum polycystum   C. Agardh

Rough-stemmed sargassum

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Sargassum polycystum  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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drawing shows typical species in Sargassaceae.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Phaeophyceae | Fucales | Sargassaceae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Sessile; depth range 0 - 63 m (Ref. 102119).  Tropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans: Canary Islands; from Kenya to Madagascar, including Seychelles and Mauritius, east to India and south to Indonesia, including Bay of Bengal and Andaman Islands; from China to the South China Sea, south to Australia, including Xisha Islands, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, New Caledonia, Tonga and Fiji.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm

Short description Morphology

Thalli large, dark brown to yellowish brown, attached to rocks by a coarse branching holdfast; stem short cylindrical. Primary branches terete, bearing irregularly alternate secondary branches with numerous simple and Y-shaped proliferations. Mature thalli with fewer and smaller oblanceolate leaves, 7 to 15 mm long and 1.5 to 4 mm wide, with coarsely dentate or serrated margins; midrib prominent up to near the apex. Cryptostomata scattered on the surface of leaves. Stalked vesicles ovate or spherical, numerous; vesicles attached to the secondary, tertiary and terminal branches either singly or in clusters, 1.0 to 2.5 mm in diameter, bearing few cryptostomata and/or teeth-like structures. Plant dioecious. Male receptacles racemose-paniculate, receptacular branches terete, warty. Female receptacles small, cymose; receptacular branches short, dense, compressed, simple or forked with teeth or spines at margins. Thalli up to 40 cm in height (Ref. 80758).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Used as fertilizer, as human food, fodder and medicine; contains auxin-like substance; controls heavy metal (Pb, Cd) pollution; also a source of alginate; may form dense stands and is therefore considered as a good biomass source for biogas production; used as soil fertilizer (Ref. 80758). Usually thrives in inner reef areas on coarse, sandy coralline substrate, not exposed to strong water turbulence (Ref. 80758).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Guiry, M.D. and G.M. Guiry. 2009. (Ref. 80701)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless (Ref. 80758)

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
| FishSource |

Tools

E-book | Field guide

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Common names
Synonyms
Predators
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Morphology
Larvae
Abundance
References
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | AlgaeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 23.8 - 29.1, mean 28 (based on 1868 cells).