Asparagopsis armata

Asparagopsis armata is a species of marine red algae, in the family Bonnemaisoniaceae. English name(s) include red harpoon weed. They are multicellular eukaryotic organisms. This species was first described in 1855 by Harvey, an Irish botanist who found the algae on the Western Australian coast. A. armata usually develops on infralittoral rocky bottoms around the seawater surface to around 40m of depth. Marine algae like A. armata are considered "autogenic ecosystem engineers" as they are at the very bottom of the food chain and control resource availability to other organisms in the ecosystem.