The genus had a cosmopolitan distribution, with fossil specimens found in various regions of the world, including North America, Europe, and Asia.

Lichenalia was first described by the American paleontologist Edward Oscar Ulrich in 1882, based on fossil specimens collected from the Upper Ordovician rocks of Ohio.

The genus is classified in the family Rhinoporidae, which is characterized by a vesicular skeleton with tunnels that appear as ridges on the surface of the colony.

The genus has been recovered from rocks of Upper Ordovician to Middle Silurian age, indicating that it existed for a period of approximately 30 million years.

The genus may have played a role in building or stabilizing reef structures, as some species have been found in association with other reef-building organisms, such as corals and stromatoporoids.