Synonyms: (basyonim) Melobesia farinosa Lamouroux (1816) p. 315; Melobesia granulata (Meneghini) Zanardini (1843) p. 44; Melobesia membranacea Le Jolis (1863) p. 150; Melobesia verrucata Crouan (1867) p. 150; Melobesia callithamnioides Falkenberg (1879) p. 109; Melobesia pustulata Ardissone (1883) p. 445; Melobesia solmsiana Falkenberg (1879) p. 265; Melobesia farinosa f. callithamnioides Foslie (1905) p. 96 (non M. farinosa Kützing = M. lejolisii); Fosliella farinosa (Lamouroux) Howe (1920) p. 587.

VEGETATIVE FEATURES

Thallus habit: crustose becoming confluent. Margin entire, thin; surface smooth. Size: 4-15mm in diameter, up to 0.1mm thick. Colour of living specimen: pink or dark red. Colour of dried specimen: pink, red or pale grey.

Basal filaments:  elongated, more or less rectangular cells: (9) 10-20 (22)µm long x (5) 7-12 (18)µm in diameter. Erect filaments: in vertical rows with well calcified cells, flattened, 1-12µm long x 4-12µm in diameter. (Chamberlain 1994) Epithallial cells: rounded. Cell connections: cell fusions (A). Other features: spore germination disc with 4 central cells and 12 cellule pericentral cells (radial symmetry) (B); trichocytes terminal, single.

Gametangial and tetra/bisporangial conceptacles: uniporate, domed or warty, (130) 140-250 (300)µm diameter. Trichocytes often forming a ring surrounding conceptacles base (C). Phenology: January, from February to May.

Habitat: epiphytic species on seagrasses and algae. Recorded rarely as epilithic or living on shells. Bathymetric distribution: sublittoral to lower sublittoral. Geographic distribution (Babbini & Bressan 1997):

Alboran Sea (A): Spain, Morocco; Western Mediterranean Sea (African shores) (B): Algeria; Middle Western Mediterranean Sea (C): Spain, France, Italy; North Western Mediterranean Sea (D): Spain, France, Italy; North Adriatic Sea (E): Italy, Slovenia, Croatia; Middle Adriatic Sea (F): Italy, Croatia; South Adriatic Sea (G): Italy, Albania; South Eastern Mediterranean Sea (H): Italy, Malta, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Israel; Middle Eastern Mediterranean Sea (L): Italy, Greece, Turkey, Syria; North Eastern Mediterranean Sea (M): Greece, Turkey.