Kinneret Algae Atlas

Phylum: Rhodophyta
Class: Bangiophyceae
Order: Bangiales
Habitat: benthos, periphyton
Distinctive features: filaments form dark fur-like fleecy mats at air-water interface in shallow waters (few cm) close to the waterline. The species is found in both marine and fresh waters.
Organization: filamentous (initially uniseriate, later multiseriate)
Color: dark red-brown
Cell shape: cylinder
Cell diameter (D): ~ 20 mm (but highly variable) Filament length: Several centimeters

Morphological features

Bangia colonies made of filament aggregation are visible to the naked eye and distinct by their reddish-dark brown to black color (Plate 1). The colonies are attached to surfaces by down-growing , usually in dense purple-black to rust-colored clumps. The individual filaments are gelatinous, unbranched. Young filaments are uniseriate (Plate 2), old filaments are multiseriate (Plate 3). A star-shaped chloroplast with prominent pyrenoid in the center of each cell is typical of the genus. So are cell elongations (Plate 4) occurring from intercalary cells, they are formed as a step in the reproductive cycle (Gargiulo et al. 2001).

Plate 1. Mat-forming colony of Baniga atropurpurea with young filaments embedded in firm gelatinous matrix.

Plate 2. A young uniseriate filamenat of Baniga atropurpurea showing box shape of individual cells.

Plate 3. A mature, multiseriate filamenat of Baniga atropurpurea made of cells of different shapes and sizes.

Plate 4. Close up on a uniseriate filament of Baniga atropurpurea showing development of colorless, rizoid-like structure from an intecalary cell.

Ecology

Seasonally occurring as a fleecy mat in the eulittoral zone of Lake Kinneret on near-shore hard surfaces (often concrete) in extremely shallow waters. It appears in December each year, for a few weeks, then disappears, to re-appear in following years. Since it is absent in the pelagial, where samples for our monitoring program are collected, we have no abundance nor size data for it.

Physiological features

Known as being a highly adaptive species due to its stress tolerance. Can survive desiccation and extreme solar radiation (in the supra-littoral zone).

Cite this record as: Tamar Zohary, Alla Alster. 7 May 2026. Electronic publication. Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research. https://kinneret-algae-atlas.org/ Searched on —.