Splachnidium rugosum
{{Short description|Species of seaweed}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Splachnidium_rugosum_-_Richard_Littauer_-_468191441.jpeg
| image_caption = Splachnidium rugosum at Te Kopahou Reserve
| image_alt = Deadman's fingers growing on a rock in the intertidal zone near Wellington
| genus = Splachnidium
| species = rugosum
| authority = (L.) Grev.
}}
Splachnidium rugosum, the deadman's fingers or gummy weed, is a species of seaweed in New Zealand.{{cite web |title=Splachnidium rugosum (Deadman's Fingers) |url=https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/416332-Splachnidium-rugosum |website=iNaturalist |access-date=5 February 2025 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Splachnidium rugosum |url=https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/splachnidium-rugosum/ |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=New Zealand Plant Conservation Network |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Lovell-Smith |first=Melanie |last2=Taonga |first2=New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu |title=Gummy weed |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/4591/gummy-weed |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=teara.govt.nz |language=en}}
Description
A small seaweed that grows on rocks near the shore and in the intertidal zone, tubular, which is filled with a clear gooey substance.
Range
Native to New Zealand, and known across the southern hemisphere, from Tristan da Cunha to South Africa to Australia.{{Cite web |title=Splachnidium rugosum (Linnaeus) Greville :: AlgaeBase |url=https://www.algaebase.org/search/species/detail/?species_id=3450 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20231008010428/https://www.algaebase.org/search/species/detail/?species_id=3450 |archive-date=2023-10-08 |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=www.algaebase.org |language=en}}
Community scientists using the platform INaturalist have identified superficially morphologically similar specimens across the southern Hemisphere using user-uploaded photos.
Habitat
Intertidal zone.
Taxonomy
Splachnidium is monotypic, containing only the species S. rugosum.{{Cite web |title=WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Splachnidium rugosum (Linnaeus) Greville, 1830 |url=https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=221158 |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=www.marinespecies.org}}