Biatorellaceae | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Fungi |
Division: | Ascomycota |
Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
Family: | Biatorellaceae M.Choisy ex Hafellner & Casares (1992) |
Type genus | |
Biatorella De Not. (1846) | |
Type species | |
Biatorella rousselii |
Biatorellaceae is a family of lichen-forming fungi in the subclass Lecanoromycetidae. The family is monotypic, and contains the single genus Biatorella, [1] which contains eight species.
Species in the genus have a cosmopolitan distribution, [2] they are also found in northern temperate regions, especially in Europe. [3] but also in tropical Central America, Africa and Asia (such as India [4] ). [2] As well as Australia. [5]
The family is classified as incertae sedis with respect to ordinal placement in the Lecanoromycetidae, as there is no reliable molecular data available to establish phylogenetic relationships with similar taxa. [6]
Genus Biatorella was circumscribed by Italian botanist Giuseppe De Notaris in 1846, with Biatorella rousselii assigned as the type species. [7] The family Biatorellaceae was originally proposed by French lichenologist Maurice Choisy in 1949, [8] but he did not publish the name validly. [9] Josef Hafellner and Manuel Casares published the name validly in 1992. [10]
Biatorellaceae species are crustose lichens with a chlorococcoid photobiont partner (i.e., green algae of the genus Chlorococcum ). The lichens have ascomata in the form of biatorine apothecia, which often have a reduced margin around the edge. Ascospores are ellipsoid to roughly spherical in shape, hyaline, and non-amyloid. Biatorella lichens grow on soil or bark. [11]
As of November 2021 [update] , Species Fungorum accepts eight species of Biatorella: [12]