Amandinea devilliersiana

Amandinea devilliersiana
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Lecanoromycetes
Order:	Caliciales
Family:	Caliciaceae
Genus:	Amandinea
Species:	A. devilliersiana
Binomial name
Amandinea devilliersiana Elix & Kantvilas (2013)

Amandinea devilliersiana is a crustose lichen in the family Caliciaceae. ^[1] It occurs on salt-sprayed granite and quartzite along the coasts of South Australia and Tasmania, where its grey, fissured thallus is dotted with inconspicuous black fruit bodies.

Taxonomy

The species was described in 2013 by the Australian lichenologists John A. Elix and Gintaras Kantvilas from material collected on granite boulders at Windmill Bay, eastern Kangaroo Island (type locality 1 m above sea level). The epithet honours Brigitte de Villiers, a long-standing field companion of Kantvilas. ^[2]

Morphologically A. devilliersiana most closely resembles the Antarctic species Amandinea latemarginata , from which it differs in having smaller ascospores (10–15 × 5–8  μm vs 12–18 × 7–10 μm), longer thread-like conidia (15–30 μm) and, critically, a thallus whose rim does not break into radiating lobes (an ' effigurate ' margin). The new species also recalls the widespread Amandinea pelidna , but that lichen lacks secondary metabolites and usually develops a thicker internal layer beneath the hymenium. Thin-layer chromatography shows A. devilliersiana contains norstictic acid as its principal lichen product, with a trace of connorstictic acid. ^[2]

Description

The lichen forms continuous to cracked patches (0.5–6 cm across) whose surface ranges from smooth to warted. Each individual areole —tiny polygonal plate—measures 0.2–0.4 mm and rises slightly above the rock. A thin black line of fungal tissue (the prothallus ) often outlines the colony. Internally, the upper 'skin' ( cortex ) is only 12–15 μm thick, while the lower medulla is colourless and lacks the calcium oxalate crystals common in many shore lichens. ^[2]

Minute, black apothecia (fruiting bodies) provide the lichen's sexual reproduction. They are disc -shaped, sit directly on the thallus, and span 0.3–0.8 mm. The surrounding ring of tissue ( proper exciple ) stays visible even in older specimens and shows a vivid red reaction when a drop of potassium hydroxide solution is applied—a quick chemical test used in the field. Inside, the hymenium is clear and free of oil droplets. Eight spores develop in each ascus; they begin with thickened inner walls typical of the Physconia -type but mature into the more angular Buellia -type. Fully grown spores are olive-brown, one-septate and not pinched at the partition. Immersed pycnidia produce curved, hair-like conidia up to 30 μm long that provide an asexual means of dispersal. ^[2]

Habitat and distribution

Amandinea devilliersiana is a littoral specialist recorded from northern and western Tasmania and the eastern shore of Kangaroo Island. It colonises hard, crystalline rocks—granite, quartzite and dolerite—in the splash zone a few metres above high tide. The lichen shares this niche with other salt-tolerant crusts such as Caloplaca cribrosa , Rinodina blastidiata and Xanthoria ligulata . Within these wind-exposed sites it prefers slightly sheltered faces and overhangs where seawater mist maintains intermittent moisture, yet direct freshwater runoff is minimal. ^[2]

References

1. "Amandinea devilliersiana Elix & Kantvilas". Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
2. Elix, John A.; Kantvilas, Gintaras (2013). "New taxa and new records of Amandinea (Physciaceae, Ascomycota) in Australia". Australasian Lichenology. 72: 3–19.