| Atla oulankaensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Eurotiomycetes |
| Order: | Verrucariales |
| Family: | Verrucariaceae |
| Genus: | Atla |
| Species: | A. oulankaensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Atla oulankaensis Pykälä & Myllys (2016) | |
Atla oulankaensis is a rare species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It has been recorded in Finland and in the Canadian arctic, growing on calciferous rock and on high-pH soil.
The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Juha Pykälä and Leena Myllys. The type specimen was collected by the first author from the Jäkälävuoma gorge in Oulanka National Park (Juuma, Koillismaa) at an altitude of 208 m (682 ft); there it was found growing on a shady dolomitic rock outcrop on a northwest-facing wall. The species epithet oulankaensis refers to the type locality, which is, according to the authors, "one of the lichenologically most valuable areas in Finland". [1] It has also been collected from Banks Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, where it was growing on high-pH soil. [2] [1]
Molecular analysis of the internal transcribed spacer DNA regions suggests that Atla alaskana is the closest relative of A. oulankaensis, although they are readily distinguished by differences in morphology and ecology. [1]
The lichen has a thin, grey to greyish-green thallus that is often covered with cyanobacteria from genus Nostoc . These cyanobacteria sometimes form structures called cephalodia. The perithecia are 0.30–0.38 mm in diameter with a pale to dark, depressed ostiole that is 30–100 μm wide. Ascospores number eight per ascus, and are dark brown, muriform (divided into chambers by 12–16 transverse septa and 4–6 longitudinal septa), and typically measure 51–69 by 23–28 μm. [1]
Verrucariaceae is a family of lichens and a few non-lichenised fungi in the order Verrucariales. The lichens have a wide variety of thallus forms, from crustose (crust-like) to foliose (bushy) and squamulose (scaly). Most of them grow on land, some in freshwater and a few in the sea. Many are free-living but there are some species that are parasites on other lichens, while one marine species always lives together with a leafy green alga.
Teuvo ("Ted") Tapio Ahti is a Finnish botanist and lichenologist. He has had a long career at the University of Helsinki that started in 1963, and then following his retirement in 1997, at the Botanical Museum of the Finnish Museum of Natural History. Known as a specialist of the lichen family Cladoniaceae, Ahti has published more than 280 scientific publications. A Festschrift was dedicated to him in 1994, and in 2000 he was awarded the prestigious Acharius Medal for lifetime contributions to lichenology.
Orvo Vitikainen is a Finnish lichenologist. He entered the University of Helsinki in 1961, from where he obtained a Candidate of Philosophy degree in 1966, and a Licentiate of Philosophy in 1971. He later earned a Ph.D. from this institution in 1994, under the supervision of Teuvo Ahti. Between the years 1961 and 1981 he was a junior curator of cryptogams at the University of Helsinki Botanical Garden, and then from 1983 to 2004 he was the head of the lichen herbarium. Here he managed the internationally valuable collections of the early lichenologists Erik Acharius and William Nylander. He has collected thousands of specimens for the herbarium from various locations in Finland, but also internationally, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russian Karelia, Scotland, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Croatia, Montenegro, Tanzania, Kenya, British Columbia, and Brazil. In 1992–1994, he was a scientist of the Finnish Academy in the Ahti research group.
Hydropunctaria is a genus of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens in the family Verrucariaceae. The genus includes both aquatic and amphibious species, with members that colonise either marine or freshwater habitats. The type species, Hydropunctaria maura, was formerly classified in the large genus Verrucaria. It is a widely distributed species common to littoral zones. Including the type species, five Hydropunctaria lichens are considered marine species: H. adriatica, H. amphibia, H. aractina, H. orae, and H. oceanica.
Micarea fennica is a species of lichen in the family Pilocarpaceae. Originally found in Finland, it was formally described as a new species in 2019 by lichenogists Annina Launis and Leena Myllis. The type specimen was discovered in an old growth forest in Kalajanvuori, Rautalampi,. Here it was found growing on the softened wood of a standing dead Pinus sylvestris, along with Micarea prasina.
Atla is a genus of crustose lichens in the family Verrucariaceae. It has nine species that grow on rocks or on soil.
Atla tibelliorum is a rare species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in Finland and the United States, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Juha Pykälä and Leena Myllys. The type specimen was collected by the first author near Toskaljärvi lake ; there, in a calcareous alpine grassland at an altitude of 730 m (2,400 ft), the lichen was found growing on dolomite pebbles. It has also been collected from Franklin Bluffs, Alaska, where it was growing on high-pH soil in dwarf shrub tundra. The species epithet tibelliorum honours "Sanja and Leif Tibell, the mother and father of the genus Atla".
Atla vitikainenii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in northern Finland, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Juha Pykälä and Leena Myllys. The type specimen was collected by the first author from Oulanka National Park, at an altitude of 185 m (607 ft); there, it was found growing on pebbles in a northeast-facing dolomite rock outcrop. The species epithet honours Finnish lichenologist Orvo Vitikainen, who, according to the authors, "has contributed in many ways to our knowledge of the taxonomy, ecology and biogeography of Finnish lichens".
Verrucaria vitikainenii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It is found in Finland, where it occurs on calcareous rock outcrops.
Verrucaria oulankaensis is a rare species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It is found in north-eastern Finland, where it occurs on calcareous rocks on river shores.
Verrucaria ahtii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It is found in Finland, Lithuania, Russia, and Switzerland, where it occurs on calcareous pebbles.
Atla recondita is a rare alpine species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in Sweden, it was formally described as new to science in 2015 by Sanja and Leif Tibell. The type specimen was collected from Hamrafjället at an altitude of 1,075 m (3,527 ft); there, it was found growing on calciferous rocks. It is known only from a few locations in this area, collected at an altitude range between 610 and 1,075 m. The lichen has a thin olive brown-coloured thallus and ascospores with 9–15 transverse septa and 3–4 longitudinal septa. The authors note that it is not possible to distinguish this species from the similar Polyblastia by morphology alone.
Atla palicei is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in Sweden, it was formally described as a new species in 2008 by Sanja Savić and Leif Tibell. The type specimen was collected in the Kärkevagge valley, where it was found near a stream growing on a west-facing calcareous boulder. It is only known to occur in the Torne Lappmark in Sweden at elevations between 410 and 650 m, but the authors suggest that it is "probably overlooked elsewhere". The lichen has a blackish-brown, scurfy thallus that is diffusely areolate, and ascospores measuring 43–51 by 23–26 μm.
Atla praetermissa is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in Scandinavia, it was formally described as a new species in 2008 by Sanja Savić and Leif Tibell. The type specimen was collected in Andersjöåforsen. In addition to Sweden, it has also been recorded in Norway; it grows on calcareous rocks near streams, at altitudes ranging from 165 to 955 m. The lichen has a superficial, thin and sometimes mesh-like, crustose thallus that is grey to dark green, sometimes with a brownish tinge. Its ascospores are narrowly ellipsoidal and measure 44.7–49.2 by 19.0–22.4 μm. Atla praetermissa has an unidentified green alga as a photobiont.
Trimmatothele is a genus of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens in the family Verrucariaceae. It has five species. The genus was formally published by lichenologist Alexander Zahlbruckner in 1903. The type species, Trimmatothele perquisita, was originally collected from Norway by Johannes M. Norman, who placed it in the genus Coniothele in 1868. Diagnostic characteristics of Trimmatothele include a thin thallus with a smooth surface; small perithecia that are partially immersed in the substrata and have an involucrellum; asci that contain multiple ascospores; and small, simple ascospores. Trimmatothele has been described as one of the most poorly known genera of lichens due to the rarity of its species, the few available herbarium specimens, and some missing type specimens.
Wahlenbergiella mucosa is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It is a marine species that grows in the littoral zone, and therefore remains immersed in seawater for extended periods. Its photobiont partner is the green alga Paulbroadya petersii.
Verrucaria muralis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling, crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It is a common species with an almost cosmopolitan distribution, occurring in an altitudinal range extending from the lowlands to the subalpine zone. It grows on calcareous rocks and walls. It was first formally described as a new species in 1803 by Swedish lichenologist Erik Acharius.
Atla wheldonii is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in Europe, it was formally described as a new species in 1947 by William Gladstone Travis from specimens collected from sand dunes in Lancashire, England, in 1924. Sanja Savić and Leif Tibell transferred the taxon to genus Atla in 2008 following molecular phylogenetic analysis that showed that it, along with three other Northern European species, comprised a distinct clade in the Verrucariacae.
Verrucaria nodosa is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in freshwater habitats in Wales, it was formally described as a new species in 2013 by lichenologist Alan Orange. The type specimen was collected by the author north-west of Llanuwchllyn, Merioneth, where it was found growing on an unshaded rock in a stream. The lichen has a grey-green to dark brown thallus with an uneven surface crust. Its ascomata are in the form of somewhat convex to hemispherical perithecia measuring 220–460 μm in diameter, with an inconspicuous or tiny ostiole. Ascospores are ellipsoid and colourless, lack any septa, and typically measure 20.5–22.2–24.0 by 90–97–105 μm. The species is known only from a few streams in Wales, where it grows on shaded or lightly shaded rocks. Associated lichen species include Ionaspis lacustris, Rhizocarpon lavatum, Porpidia hydrophila, Sporodictyon cruentum, and Trapelia coarctata, as well as the mosses Racomitrium aciculare and Scapania undulata.