RHODOPHYTA : Corallinales : HapalidiaceaeRED ALGAE

Phymatolithon laevigatum (Foslie) Foslie


Description: Encrusting, up to 5 cms in diameter and 1 mm thick. May have orbital ridges. Growing irregularly flat and smooth without upright branches. Shows "watermarks" - wave-like marks on the surface.

Habitat: Widespread and common. Epilithic on rock or stones, in the mid to lower littoral to the sublittoral at 35 m or more.

Distribution: Throughout the British Isles. Europe: France, Norway, Faroes, the baltic and Iceland. Greenland. Atlantic coast of North America from Arctic Canada to Connecticut.

Similar Species: Phymatolithon lenormandii (Areschoug) Adey Phymatolithon lamii (Lemoine) Chamberlain.

Distribution Map from NBN: Phymatolithon laevigatum at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Phymatolithon laevigatum at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

WoRMS: Phymatolithon laevigatum at World Register of Marine Species.

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 Morton, O., Keatley, L., Morrow, C.C. & Picton, B.E. (2026). Phymatolithon laevigatum. (Foslie) Foslie. [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland.
https://habitas.org/mbdp/species.php?item=ZM4920. Accessed on 2026-11-01