Morphology:
Escharina alderi is an encrusting bryozoan that forms runner-like colonies. Colonies are composed of irregularly branching linear series of autozooids forming a delicate network of interlaced branching lines over the substrate, occasionally converging to form a loose disordered sheet Autozooids are oval, elongate, flattened and only slightly convex. They are 0.5-0.7 by 0.4-0.5 mm.
Distribution:
Escharina alderi is a cold temperate species, restricted to the north-east Atlantic. It has been reported from Bergen, Norway, the Barents Sea, Shetland and as far south as the Hebrides
Habitat:
The species is able to colonise hard substrates, in offshore waters.
Taxonomic name: