CLADOPHORACEA

Mead, A., Carlton, J. T., Griffiths, C. L. & Rius, M., 2011, Introduced and cryptogenic marine and estuarine species of South Africa, Journal of Natural History 45 (39 - 40), pp. 2463-2524 : 2509

Family CLADOPHORACEA

Cladophora prolifera (Roth, 1797) Introduced

Leliaert and Coppejans (2003) record this now widespread filamentous green alga from Rabbit Rock, Kosi Bay, based upon 1999 collections. They reverse a previous synonymy with Cladophora rugulosa Martens, 1868 (reviewed in Silva et al. 1996), concluding that Cladophora rugulosa may be a South African endemic. Although noting that records of Cladophora prolifera in South Africa date back to the 1840s, they suggest that such early records may also have been confused with Cladophora rugulosa (so the earliest available herbarium material requires re-examination). Widespread through southern Europe, and recorded from other areas of the world, this may have been an early ship fouling introduction. We tentatively accept the designation of Hewitt et al. (2004) that this alga has been introduced from the Mediterranean to the southern hemisphere.