Cystoseira foeniculacea (Linnaeus) Greville

Fig. 6A-D

Fucus foeniculaceus Linnaeus. Basionym.

Cystoseira abrotanifolia (Linnaeus) C. Agardh, C. concatenata (Linnaeus) C. Agardh, C. discors (Linnaeus) C. Agardh, C. ercegovicii Giaccone, Fucus abrotanifolius Linnaeus, F. barbatus Linnaeus, F. concatenatus Linnaeus, F. discors Linnaeus, Phyllacantha concatenata (Linnaeus) Kützing . Synonyms.

Morphology of specimens from Pantelleria.

C. foeniculacea is a caespitose species, with numerous axes that originate from an irregular discoid holdfast. The axes bear numerous small protuberances that give them a knotty habit. The apices are spinose and not sharply protruding. Axes can be flattened and branched distichously. Secondary branches can be flattened or cylindrical. Higher order branches are filiform, divaricate, alternating in several planes. During the monitoring activity, this species was not reproductive.

Habitat.

This species was found in shallow (0.5-1 m) and sheltered habitats (as rock pools) partially covered by coarse gravel and cobbles at Kuddie Rosse and Cala Levante.

Distribution.

The species is widely distributed in the Mediterranean Sea and occurs also in the Atlantic Ocean, from Scotland to Cape Verde ( Blanfuné et al. 2022).