Where Jap weed has been recorded
GBIF occurrence records for Sargassum muticum, mapped and tabulated by country.
Distribution map plotted from GBIF.org occurrence records; basemap Natural Earth 110m · GBIF records CC0 / CC BY; Natural Earth public domain
64,839 georeferenced occurrence records with coordinates are published for Sargassum muticum through GBIF, from 27 countries or marine areas. This page maps those records and lists where they come from. Occurrence records reflect where people have looked as well as where the species lives, so well-surveyed coastlines are over-represented.
- Georeferenced records
- 64,839
- Countries / areas
- 27
- Mapped locations
- 139
- Records sampled for the map
- 3,000
- Inland records omitted
- 164
- Gbif taxonkey
- 3197314
Countries and areas with the most records (GBIF)
United States of America — 44,465 records; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — 4,984 records; France — 3,060 records; Netherlands — 2,543 records; Canada — 2,095 records; Norway — 1,915 records; Sweden — 996 records; Ireland — 866 records; Korea, Republic of — 761 records; Belgium — 734 records; Portugal — 548 records; Japan — 281 records; Mexico — 256 records; Spain — 251 records; Germany — 226 records.
Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 3197314) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=3197314&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Marine regions with a WoRMS distribution record
European waters (ERMS scope); Mediterranean Sea; Cap Gris Nez; Pointe aux Oies (point); Pointe du Nid de Corbet; Boulogne, Digue du Nord; Zeebrugge; Pointe du Riden; De Panne; Grevelingen; Oosterschelde; Sas van Goes; Wadden Sea; Zeeland; Wimereux; Atlantic Europe; Baltic sea; North Sea; Scilly Isles; English Channel; United Kingdom part of the North Sea; South Wales; Strangford Lough; United Kingdom part of the Celtic Sea; Portuguese Atlantic Coast; Atlantic Coast of Spain; French part of the English Channel; Belgian Exclusive Economic Zone; Netherlands Antilles; Danish Exclusive Economic Zone.
Source: WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=494791 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
How to read this map
The map plots a sample of 3,000 of the 64,839 records, deduplicated to a half-degree grid, so dense areas do not merge into one blob. The sample covers 24 of the 27 countries or areas with records; the areas absent from the sample hold 3 records in total (Greece, Nigeria, Russian Federation).
164 records plotting inland were omitted: for a marine species those are almost always the holding institution's coordinates rather than a collection site.
Records show where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.
Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 3197314) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=3197314&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=494791 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.
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