Acarospora janae

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Acarospora janae
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Acarosporales
Family: Acarosporaceae
Genus: Acarospora
Species:
A. janae
Binomial name
Acarospora janae
K.Knudsen (2011)

Acarospora janae is a species of lichen in the Acarosporaceae family. Described as new to science in 2011, it is known only from New Mexico and Colorado in the United States, where it grows on siliceous rock.

Contents

Taxonomy

The lichen was first described scientifically in a 2011 issue of the journal Phytotaxa , one of 100 new species authored by 102 contributors from 35 countries. The type collection was made in Las Vegas (San Miguel County, New Mexico) in 1927 by Arsène Brouard. The specific epithet janae refers to Jana Kocourkova, colleague and fiancée of the species author Kerry Knudsen. [1]

Description

The lichen thallus (body) consists of dispersed areoles (a small rounded area that is more or less polygonal or angular, and delimited by cracks) that are dark to light brown in color. The surface of the areoles often have fine grooves. The disc of the lichen (a round, plate-like spore-producing part of the fruit body) has a rough texture and is either the same color as the thallus or darker. It sometimes has umbos and ridges, but these tend to disappear as the disc fully dilates. The hymenium is about 100  μm thick and contain paraphyses that have a diameter of 2 μm. The asci (spore-bearing cells) are club-shaped, measure 60 by 20  μm, and contain roughly 100 spores. The spores are 3–4 by 2 μm. [1]

Habitat and distribution

Acarospora janae grows on siliceous rock. It is known only from the type locality, and a modern collection made from Marks Creek Township, Wake County, North Carolina, although Knudsen suggests that it may occur infrequently from Utah and the Colorado Plateau south into Mexico. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Acarospora</i> Genus of fungi

Acarospora is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Acarosporaceae. Most species in the genus are crustose lichens that grow on rocks in open and arid places all over the world. They may look like a cobblestone road or cracked up old paint, and are commonly called cobblestone lichens or cracked lichens,. They usually grow on rock, but some grow on soil (terricolous) or on other lichens. Some species in the genus are fungi that live as parasites on other lichens. Acarospora is a widely distributed genus, with about 128 species according to a 2008 estimate.

Neobrownliella brownlieae is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is widely distributed in Australia.

Acarospora flavisparsa is a species of lichen in the family Acarosporaceae. Found in Portugal and Spain, it was described as new to science in 2011. The lichen grows on acidic rock walls in inland areas.

Caloplaca durietzii, or Durietz's orange lichen, a smooth surfaced yellowish orange crustose areolate lichen with elongated lobes that grows on wood or bark in southwestern North America. It is commonly seen growing on old junipers in Joshua Tree National Monument in the Mojave Desert. It is in the Caloplaca fungus genus of the Teloschistaceae family.

<i>Acarospora fuscata</i> Species of fungus

Acarospora fuscata is a glossy pale or yellowish-brown areolate lichen with angular areolas that grows up to 10 cm (4 in) wide on non-calcareous rock in low and high elevations. It grows in Europe and North America. It grows in southern California and on the eastern part of the Sierra Nevada range. It may grow with the areolas disconnected. The areolas may lift at the edges, but the areolas do not overlap like true squamules (sub-squamulose). More common in the Sierras is the similar species Acarospora thamnina, which is truly squamulose with overlapping scales.

<i>Punctelia perreticulata</i> Species of lichen

Punctelia perreticulata is a widely distributed species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It occurs in Mediterranean Europe and Russia, North America, South America, Australia, and New Zealand, where it grows on rocks, bark, or wood. Its main distinguishing features are its thallus surface, marked with many shallow depressions, grooves, or pits, and sorediate pseudocyphellae. The lower side of the thallus is ivory to tan towards the centre and the major secondary metabolite in the medulla is lecanoric acid. A lookalike species with which it has been historically confused is Punctelia subrudecta; this lichen can be distinguished from Punctelia perreticulata by the texture of the thallus surface, or, more reliably, by the length of its conidia.

<i>Punctelia graminicola</i> Species of lichen

Punctelia graminicola is a species of foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It grows on rocks, and, less frequently, on bark in North America, South America, and East Africa. It has a blue-grey thallus measuring up to about 15 cm (6 in), covered with tiny pores called pseudocyphellae. Sometimes the lichen forms small lobes that project out from the surface. Fruiting bodies are uncommon in this species; if present, they resemble small cups with a brown internal disc measuring 3–10 mm (0.1–0.4 in) in diameter. A lookalike species, Punctelia hypoleucites, is not readily distinguishable from Punctelia graminicola by appearance or habitat alone; these species can only be reliably differentiated by examining the length of their conidia.

Porpidia seakensis is a species of crustose lichen in the family Lecideaceae. It is an endolithic species, meaning it grows inside the rocks, between the grains. Found only in Alaska, it was formally described as a new species in 2020 by British lichenologist Alan Fryday. The type specimen was collected in the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, in Glacier Bay National Park. Here it was discovered growing on granitic rock in a woodland. The lichen is only known from this area, although it is locally common. Its preferred habitat is siliceous rocks and boulders in wooded areas that are open and well lit. The specific epithet seakensis uses the letters "seak" to refer to a standard abbreviation for southeast Alaska.

Fuscidea muskeg is a species of crustose lichen in the family Fuscideaceae. Found in Alaska, it was described as a new species in 2020 by Tor Tønsberg and Martina Zahradníková. The type species was collected in the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area of Glacier Bay National Park. Here it was found growing on a branch of the tree Pinus contorta in muskeg. The specific epithet muskeg is an Algonquin word for a blanket bog.

Sagiolechia phaeospora is a species of crustose lichen in the family Sagiolechiaceae. It is found in the alpine tundra of Alaska.

Leucodecton canescens is a species of lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in Sri Lanka, it was formally described as a new species in 2014 by lichenologists Gothamie Weerakoon, Robert Lücking, and Helge Thorsten Lumbsch. The type specimen was collected from the Maussakanda Tea Estate at an altitude of 1,074 m (3,524 ft). The lichen, which has been recorded from several locations in the Central Province, grows in semi-exposed, disturbed areas at high elevations. The specific epithet canescens refers to the grey-coloured cover of the thallus.

<i>Neoprotoparmelia plurisporibadia</i> Species of lichen

Neoprotoparmelia plurisporibadia is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where it grows on granite rocks in low, open mountainous areas.

<i>Malmidea attenboroughii</i> Species of lichen

Malmidea attenboroughii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is known to occur from a single location in the Amazon rainforest of Bolivia.

<i>Fuscidea multispora</i> Species of lichen

Fuscidea multispora is a species of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Fuscideaceae. Found in Bolivia, it is known to occur only in a single high-altitude locality in a national park, where it grows on the leaves of coniferous trees from the genus Podocarpus.

<i>Silobia rufescens</i> Species of fungi

Silobia rufescens is a lichenized fungus, with a dark gray or brown crust-like appearance. It is widespread, and grows on siliceous rock. S. rufescens is in the genus Silobia, which is segregated from the genus Acarospora due to its budding apothecia with only lateral exciple.

Variospora aegaea is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. First identified from Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, and has since been recorded in Italy and Spain.

Acarospora pseudofuscata is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Acarosporaceae. It occurs on a few islands in the Aegean Sea and in Turkey.

Lecania sessilisoraliata is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It is found on rock outcrops in the mountainous Burdur region of Turkey.

Biatora pacifica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It is found in Russia, Japan, and South Korea, where it grows along the Pacific coast. It inhabits the bark of a variety of coniferous and deciduous plants.

Pertusaria pseudoparotica is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Pertusariaceae. It is known from a few localities in Greece's Aegean Islands.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lumbsch T, Ahti T, Altermann S, Arup U, Kärnefelt I, Thell A. "One hundred new species of lichenized fungi: a signature of undiscovered global diversity" (PDF). Phytotaxa. 18 (1): 1–127 (see p. 9).