Vanvoorstia bennettiana

Claudea ( = Vanvoorstia ) bennettiana by William Henry Harvey

Vanvoorstia bennettiana (English name: " Bennett's Seaweed " ) is an extinct Rotalgenart from Australia. The specific epithet honors the Australian naturalist George Bennett.

Description

Vanvoorstia bennetiana is a small red alga. Of the other three species of the genus by its small size, it is to distinguish the feinmaschigeren sheets as well as the reproductive organ structures, the Stichidium.

Dissemination

Vanvoorstia bennettiana was known only from two locations. Both are located near Sydney Harbour ( Port Jackson as known). A place was located near the eastern part of Spectacle Iceland, where she was discovered between 1 May and 15 May 1855. The second place was a channel between Point Paper and Shark Iceland, where in 1886 many specimens were collected.

Extinction

In their discovery Vanvoorstia bennettiana was considered häufig.Seitdem Sydney Harbour but was heavily modified by human activities, primarily in the increase of silt level was noticeable. Finely algal species are very sensitive to this type of interference, because of the fine dust clogs up the leaves and thus does not reach the necessary light for photosynthesis the organism.

A search by Arthur Lucas in 1916 was unsuccessful, and since this type of only two places was known to the world, they are now considered extinct. The causes were human disturbance, habitat destruction and pollution along the entire New South Wales coast. 2003 Vanvoorstia bennettiana was taken by the IUCN in the list of extinct species.