Bonnemaisonia is a genus of red algae (phylum Rhodophyta) placed in the family Bonnemaisoniaceae and order Bonnemaisoniales. Like all red algae, members of this genus lack flagella at any stage of their life cycle and rely on photosynthetic pigments — including phycoerythrin — that give the thalli their characteristic red to pink colouration. The genus comprises a small number of marine species distributed across temperate and subpolar seas worldwide, giving it an almost cosmopolitan range.
Species in Bonnemaisonia are filamentous to feathery in form, typically growing as epiphytes or free-living tufts in subtidal coastal habitats. The genus is perhaps best known beyond specialist phycology through Bonnemaisonia hamifera, an invasive species native to the Pacific that has spread to Atlantic and other ocean coasts where it can form dense mats and displace native algal communities.
The genus was established in honour of Théophile Bonnemaison (1774–1829), a French pharmacist, botanist, and naturalist. Bonnemaisonia belongs to the kingdom Plantae as broadly circumscribed in older classifications, though under modern phylogenetic treatments red algae are increasingly placed in a distinct eukaryotic supergroup, Archaeplastida.
Etymology
The genus name Bonnemaisonia honours Théophile Bonnemaison (1774–1829), a French pharmacist, botanist, and naturalist from Quimper, Brittany.
Distribution
Bonnemaisonia has an almost cosmopolitan distribution, with species recorded from temperate and subpolar coastal seas across both hemispheres. Bonnemaisonia hamifera, originally native to the North Pacific, has been introduced to and naturalised in Atlantic European waters and elsewhere.
Ecology
Members of Bonnemaisonia are marine algae found in subtidal coastal habitats, often growing as epiphytes on other algae or on hard substrates. Bonnemaisonia hamifera is notable as an invasive species that can form dense, persistent mats in its introduced range, competing with and suppressing native benthic algal communities.
