Description: Very small. Thallus a microscopically irregular disc of branching filaments less than 0.1 mm in diameter. Central cells with a single long hair.

Habitat: Probably rara. Epiphytic on other plants including algae also epilithic or epizoic. Littoral and sublittoral.

Distribution: Recorded from few scattered sites around the British Isles including the Shetlands. Europe: France, Baltic, Norway and Iceland. Greenland. Atlantic coast of North America: Canada, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Long Island. Further afield: the Canary Islands.

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

iNaturalist: Ochlochaete hystrix at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

WoRMS: Ochlochaete hystrix at World Register of Marine Species.