ECOLOGY AND TAXONOMY OF Holimeda 



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J7' ^ . ft 



Fig. 35. H. tuna. Densely branched, slightly stipitate plant with holdfast slash-shaped 

 and immediately above centimetre scale. Specimen from Jamaica, Boscobel, IX 62, 

 Hillis-Colinvaux and Colinvaux. Scale bar is 2 cm. (Photograph by The Ohio State 

 University Department of Photography.) 



usually densely entangled and remaining separate or laterally adhering for an 

 average distance of 85 [xm. 



Type locality. Mediterranean Sea. This species is the type for 

 the genus. 



Habitat. Grows attached to coral rock or other hard surface, 

 from just below low-tide to about — 80 m. Apart from opuntia it 

 is probably the commonest rock-growing Halimeda of the Caribbean. 



Geographic distribution. Pantropical; western and eastern 

 Indian Ocean; north-western Pacific; western Atlantic, both north 

 and south including Bermuda; eastern Atlantic, both north and 

 south; Mediterranean. 



