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Hormosira banksii
Neptune's necklace is a distinctive algae made up of strings of hollow, water-filled, round or oval-shaped beads joined together by a short stalk. The fronds may be between 10-30 cm long, and the beads may be 15 mm in diameter. Many pores cover the outside surface of each bead, forming a rough surface. Within these pores are the reproductive cells. Other common names include: sea grapes, Neptune's pearls, and bubbleweed. Hormosira banksii is a native Australian species, and ranges from Port Macquarie in northern New South Wales, around southern Australia to King George Sound in Western Australia, and also in New Zealand. PS: An interesting reference that describes the characteristics and habitat of macroalgae.... https://thefishsite.com/articles/macroal...
Spotted in a small rock pool at North Avoca Beach on the NSW Central Coast. This section of the rock platform is usually difficult to access due to heavy surf. Often occurs in vast colonies forming a thick covering over most of the rock surface at mid-tide levels down to the galeolaria zone on some rocky shores.
The larger mollusc species I instantly recognised with this spotting were wavy top periwinkles (Austrocochlea concamerata), black nerites (Nerita atramentosa), and most likely blue-grey periwinkles (Austrolittorina unifasciata).
15 Comments
Thanks to you all for your wonderful messages. And I totally agree, Sukanya. It's all quite amazing.
So many species I never knew about...all thanks to you for sharing and to PN for opening my eyes to all these wonders of nature.
Thank you for sharing this amazing organism!
Congrats mate. Well done. You sure know your stuff :-)
Thank you so much for the SOTD. I'm totally chuffed. And thanks for all the comments too :)
Congrats well deserved SOTD!
Beauriful series Neil,congrats on the well deserved SOTD and thanks for sharing
Congrats
Congrats!
Congratulations, Neil.
Congratulations Neil! This intriguing spotting has earned you another Spot of the Day!
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Thanks, Ava. It's taken me all these years to learn the name of this seaweed. A slow learner perhaps?
Great pictures and notes!
Cheers, Dan. This is only a small specimen too. The larger ones are really impressive, but I couldn't get anywhere near them.
That's the coolest algae I've ever seen! Love the common name too.