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Caulerpa, Mediterranean Clone

Scientific Name

Caulerpa taxifolia (Vahl) C. Agandh (ITIS; name is accepted but unverified)

Common Name

Caulerpa, Mediterranean clone; Killer algae

Native To

Caulerpa taxifolia is widespread in tropical habitats; the Mediterranean clone may have originated in Australia (Jousson et al. 1998; Meusnier et al. 2001)

Date of U.S. Introduction
Means of Introduction

Aquarium trade (Diaz et al. 2012)

Impact

Crowds out native species (Woodfield 2008)

Caulerpa, Mediterranean clone

Mediterranean clone of caulerpa, plants

Credit

Photo by Rachel Woodfield; Merkel & Associates, Inc.

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Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

Federally Regulated

  • Noxious Weeds Program

    • USDA. APHIS. Plant Protection and Quarantine.

    • Includes species listed as a Federal Noxious Weed under the Plant Protection Act, which makes it illegal in the U.S. to import or transport between States without a permit.

Videos

Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.

Council or Task Force
Partnership
Federal Government
International Government
Academic
Professional
Citations