Decades-long hunt ends as pink-striped seaweed confirmed as new species

While researching ancient maerl beds in the UK, Christine Maggs first spotted an unfamiliar pink-striped seaweed fragment four decades ago, launching a lifelong quest for a proper specimen. In 2024, divers mapping Cornwall’s maerl beds collected enough material for laboratory work, which Maggs stored in a chilled wine fridge before sending it for molecular testing. DNA sequencing performed by Beatriz de Barros Barreto proved the algae to be a new species, now named ceramium ruenessianum and added to the Natural History Museum’s collection.

The find underscores the ecological richness of maerl ecosystems, which support many marine species and are classified as threatened under the OSPAR convention. Researchers hope the revelation will strengthen arguments for extending formal protection to unprotected Cornish maerl sites. The results are slated for publication in the journal Phycologia.