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Service Notice

The Western Australian Herbarium’s collections management system, WAHerb, and DBCA’s taxonomic names application, WACensus, have been set to read-only mode since 1 October 2025. Recent taxonomic changes are not reflected in Florabase, herbarium collections, or in the census. We are hoping to be able to reinstate services around December 15; we will provide an update at that time.

The notice period started at 9:00 am on Wednesday, 1 October 2025 +08:00 and will end at 12:00 pm on Monday, 15 December 2025 +08:00.

Spatoglossum macrodontum J.Agardh

Reference
Algern.Syst. 17:113-114 (1882)
Conservation Code
Not threatened
Naturalised Status
Native to Western Australia
Name Status
Current
Image

Scientific Description

Habit and structure. Thallus olive-brown, attached by a matted rhizoidal holdfast, to 35 cm tall, complanate, subdichotomously or, more frequently, irregularly branched. Axes 5–40 mm wide, with spinous margins, lacking midribs and veins, 4–6 cells and 100–450 μm thick; cortical cells quadrangular in T.S., overlying larger irregularly aligned angular to ovoid medullary cells. Hair tufts densely scattered; basal cells embedded in the thallus. Reproductive structures embedded in the thallus. Sporangia angular in surface view, solitary or in small groups, producing 4 ovoid to spherical spores. Oogonia angular in surface view, solitary or in small groups, or in scattered sori. Antheridial sori whitish, scattered across the thallus.

Distribution. Recorded from eastern Australia, Lord Howe Island, Japan and the Hawaiian Islands. In N.W.A. known from Ningaloo to Broome.

Habitat. Epilithic in the intertidal and shallow subtidal.

[After Huisman & Phillips, Algae of Australia: Mar. Benthic Algae of North-western Australia, 1. Green and Brown Algae 215 (2015)]

John Huisman and Cheryl Parker, 3 August 2021

Distribution

IBRA Regions
Carnarvon, Dampierland.
IBRA Subregions
Cape Range, Pindanland.
IMCRA Regions
Central West Coast, Kimberley, Ningaloo, Pilbara (nearshore), Pilbara (offshore).
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
Ashburton, Broome, Dandaragan, Derby-West Kimberley, Exmouth, Karratha, Port Hedland, Wyndham-East Kimberley.