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Service Notice

The Western Australian Herbarium’s collections management system, WAHerb, and DBCA’s flora taxonomic names application, WACensus, have been set to read-only mode since 1 October 2025. Recent taxonomic changes are not currently being reflected in Florabase, herbarium collections, or the census. Due to the rapidly approaching holiday season and associated agency and facility soft closures, along with the substantial work involved in data mapping, cleaning, and verification, the migration to the new collection management software is not expected to occur before 1 March 2026, when a further update will be provided. Please reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

The notice period started at 9:45 am on Friday, 12 December 2025 +08:00 and will end at 12:00 pm on Monday, 2 March 2026 +08:00.

Cladurus alterniferus Huisman

Reference
Algae of Australia: Marine Benthic Algae of North-western Australia, 2. Red Algae 500, Fig. 145A-C (2018)
Conservation Code
Not threatened
Naturalised Status
Native to Western Australia
Name Status
Current

Scientific Description

Habit and structure. Thallus erect, dark brown-red, to 14 cm tall, with 1 or 2 percurrent axes arising from a discoid holdfast, radially branched every 2–5 mm (but appearing distichous in pressed specimens) and often with axillary branches. Axes terete; primary axes cartilaginous below, 2–3 mm diam., tapering only slightly; lateral branches 1–2 mm diam., each order of branching progressively narrower, with distinct constrictions at bases, slightly curved upwards; apices rounded or tapering to a fine point, with obvious trichoblasts. Axes in surface view appearing tiered due to very large pericentral cells and the relatively thin cortex. Structure polysiphonous, with 5 large pericentrals, these prominent throughout the thallus, covered by a cortex of markedly smaller cells.

Reproduction. Reproduction not observed.

Distribution. Known from Barrow Island and the Dampier Archipelago, north-western Australia.

Habitat. Epilithic in the subtidal.

[After J.M. Huisman in Algae of Australia: Marine Benthic Algae of North-western Australia, 2. Red Algae: 500 (2018)]

John Huisman & Olga Nazarova, 3 August 2021

Distribution

IMCRA Regions
Pilbara (nearshore), Pilbara (offshore).
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
Ashburton, Karratha.