Ecology: Lowland to premontane and lower montane forest; on soil and rocks. Elevation: 35-1300 m (Venezuela: 35-700 m, Colombia: 125-680 m, Ecuador: 245 m, Peru: 300 m, Bolivia: 300-1300 m). Distribution: Mexico, Guatemala, Jamaica, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and southeast Brazil.
Fissidens steerei is distinguished by the ovate-oblong leaves less than 1 mm long, acute to more commonly obtuse apex, crenulate margins, unbordered, subpercurrent costa that is often forked or notched at the apex, vaginant laminae 1/2-2/3 the leaf length, and firm-walled, mammillose laminal cells. This species was named in honor of William Campbell Steere (1907-1989), one of the foremost United States bryologists in the 20th century. Steere made bryophyte collections during the Cinchona Mission (1941-1944) in Colombia and Ecuador; later Steere returned again to Ecuador in the early 1980’s to make additional collections.
Fissidens steerei se distingue por las hojas ovado-oblongas menor a 1 mm de largo, ápices agudos a más comúnmente obtusos, márgenes crenulados, sin borde, costa subpercurrente a menudo bifurcada o emarginado en el ápice, lámina vaginante 1/2-2/3 del largo de la hoja, y células de la lámina mamilosas con paredes firmes.