A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Gloiosaccion brownii
A pale reddish brown elongated sac-like structure with a club shaped tip and narrow base where it would have been attached to a holdfast. The inside of the bladder appears to be filled with mucilage. This bladder is part of the sea weed body called the Thallus and it was about 50 mm long.
Spotted along the high tide mark along with other sea weeds on a sandy beach - Western Port Bay.
Occur in Seagrass beds upto a depth of 20 mts.
https://biocache.ala.org.au/occurrences/...
These bladders arise in a clump from a discoid holdfast. They are simple and can grow up to 16 cms in length. The outer walls of sacs growing in rough water are said to be thicker than those in calm waters. The secretory cells lining the inside of the sacs produce highly viscous mucilage.
More detailed information can be found here
https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/...
Phylum: Rhodophyta
Family: Rhodymeniaceae
12 Comments
unique indeed!
Unusual seaweed - thanks for sharing!
Thanks Neil. Yes, some amazing seaweeds. It takes an hour to get to the bay and then the tide is usually in....have to plan better.
Wow ! Thanks Ashley. Nothing like the hundreds of other beauties from the depths, on PN. Just hoped that this little bladder would make people smile like it made me - so, an SOTW is hugely unexpected and an honour.
Wonderful spotting, Leuba. Congrats on your nomination too. There must be so many amazing organisms washed up from the Southern Ocean, that it's a spotter's goldmine.
Good info.
Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!
Thanks Jim. The shores here both along the huge bays and the ocean after storms are very interesting. The shapes and sizes of the sea weeds that get washed ashore are so varied. I am learning a lot from some good resources that I've only just discovered !
Interesting spotting, Leuba. There is so much out there, we tend to overlook much of it, such as this one.
Yes, Chun.
Are those air bubbles inside it?
That was an awesome find!