encrusting coralline alga

Description:

Calcified smooth pink or greyish pink crusts on rock, shells and holdfasts. Convoluted ridges present where neighbouring crusts meet. May become bleached when exposed to strong sunlight.

Habitat:

Found on a wide range of hard rock substrata but may be unable to settle and grow well on soft rocks such as chalk. Present in rockpools and under algae in the littoral and usually covering rocks on the lower shore and sublittoral fringe. More rarely present in the sublittoral