 By the 1960s it had been reported from Japan, Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina and Chile.It is a fouling organism and it is thought that it has spread on the hulls of vessels, and possibly with the transfer of oysters or other shellfish.This species grows in shallow water on many kinds of hard surface including rocks, pilings, docks, breakwaters, seaweed, sea grasses, shellfish, floating debris and the hulls of ships.