Original publication and holotype designation: Decaisne, J. (1842). Essais sur une classification des algues et des polypiers calcifères de Lamouroux. Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Botanique, Seconde série 17: 297-380, pls 14-17.
Description: Thallus light pink to purple, forming thin crusts or erect branched thalli without protuberances, loosely attached by cell adhesion or rhizoids. Structure dimerous. Epithallial cells rounded or flattened, not flared. Cortical filaments 1–5 cells long, sometimes joined by fusions; secondary pit connections lacking. Trichocytes solitary or in clusters. Reproductive structures in protuberant uniporate conceptacles. Tetrasporangial conceptacles with a central columella. Apical sporangial plugs absent.
Comments: Mastophora is probably tropical and subtropical in distribution, although this is uncertain because of problems of identification. It has been reported from southeastern Asia and from islands in the tropical western Pacific. As recently circumscribed this genus is most closely related to Lithoporella and Metamastophora.
Numbers of names and species: There are 24 species names in the database at present, as well as 5 infraspecific names. Of the species names, 6 have been flagged as accepted taxonomically on the basis of the listed literature under the species name. In some instances, opinions on taxonomic validity differ from author to author and users are encouraged to form their own opinion. AlgaeBase is a work in progress and should not be regarded as a definitive source only as a guide to the literature..