Calenia bullatinoides | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Fungi |
Division: | Ascomycota |
Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
Order: | Graphidales |
Family: | Gomphillaceae |
Genus: | Calenia |
Species: | C. bullatinoides |
Binomial name | |
Calenia bullatinoides Lücking (2001) | |
Calenia bullatinoides is a foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichen species in the family Gomphillaceae. [1] It was discovered in New South Wales, Australia, and has been observed in other locations including Costa Rica, Cocos Island, and Kenya. The thallus of this species forms dispersed or sometimes confluent patches that are slightly inflated due to a strong encrustation with calcium oxalate crystals. These patches are whitish to silvery grey, with a smooth to irregularly rough and wrinkled surface texture and a narrow, crystal-free, greenish margin.
The thallus of Calenia bullatinoides is marked by a slight inflation, a feature caused by the accumulation of calcium oxalate crystals, and for its smooth to irregularly rugose surface. Apothecia (fruiting bodies) are centrally located on each thallus patch, emerging from the thallus and are rounded with a disc colour ranging from yellowish grey to yellowish brown. The margin of the apothecia is thin yet prominent, and the proper margin is reduced, surrounded by a thick thalline margin abundant in algal cells. The photobiont of the lichen is chlorococcoid (a spherical green alga). [2]
Paraphyses within the hymenium are richly branched and anastomosing, leading to ellipsoid-ovoid asci. Ascospores are cylindrical to oblong-ellipsoid, submuriform to muriform , and colourless, with approximately 15 transverse and 1–3 longitudinal septa (internal partitions) per segment. [2]
Hyphophores , specialised asexual spore-producing organs formed on the crystalline thallus patches, are short, setiform (bristle-like), and have an apically darkened tip. This species is differentiated by its thallus morphology, the unique characteristic of having 2–4 submuriform to muriform ascospores per ascus, and its short, apically darkened hyphophores. [2]
Calenia bullatinoides is closely related to Calenia solorinoides but can be distinguished by its thallus morphology, apothecial margin presence, and multi-spored asci. While C. submuralis also has more than one submuriform ascospore per ascus, its ascospores are smaller. Other species such as Gyalectidium ciliatum and Bullatina aspidota show superficial similarities but differ significantly in their hyphophores, asci, and thallus morphology. [2]
Originally described from New South Wales, the lichen has also been recorded from Costa Rica and Cocos Island. [2] In 2002, it was reported from a coastal rainforest in Shimba Hills in Kenya. [3]
The Gomphillaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Graphidales. Species in this family are found mostly in tropical regions.
Calenia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi within the family Gomphillaceae.
Aderkomyces thailandicus is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Gomphillaceae. Found in the lower montane rainforests of Thailand, it was described as new to science in 2011.
Calopadia editiae is a species of lichen in the family Pilocarpaceae. It is found in Tanzania, with a distribution that extends to Costa Rica and the Galápagos Islands. It can be found on leaves or bark and is characterised by its pale grey to brownish grey colour, rounded apothecia and distinctive pruina. Described as new to science in 2011, the species was named in honour of Hungarian lichenologist Edit Farkas.
Echinoplaca pernambucensis is a species of crustose lichen in the family Gomphillaceae. It was described as new to science in 2011. It is found in the Atlantic Forest in Pernambuco, Brazil. This lichen is similar in appearance to Echinoplaca verrucifera, but lacks setae and contains gyrophoric, lecanoric, and subgyrophoric acids.
Ampliotrema cocosense is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in Cocos Island, Costa Rica, it was described as new to science in 2011. Its distinctive features include its large, muriform ascospores and a notable chemical composition.
Nanostictis caucasica is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-eating) fungus in the family Stictidaceae. It is known to occur only in a single locality in the North Caucasus region of Southern Russia, where it grows parasitically on the foliose lichen Parmelia sulcata.
Platygramme lueckingii is a species of script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in Hainan Island in tropical China, where it grows on bark.
Gyalectidium floridense is a species of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Gomphillaceae. It is found in the southeastern United States, where it grows on the leaves of Citrus and palmetto.
Austrotrema is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It is primarily found in the Australian-Southeast Asian region. The genus is characterized by small, pore-like apothecia with a double margin, faintly amyloid ascospores, and stictic acid chemistry. Austrotrema species grow on tree bark and have a continuous thallus with a cortex that is prosoplectenchymatous–featuring densely packed, filamentous fungal hyphae that run parallel to the surface of the lichen, creating a compact and firm texture. The genus is closely related to Thelotrema and Leucodecton, but can be distinguished from them based on molecular phylogenetic data, specific morphological traits, and its secondary chemistry. Currently, Austrotrema comprises three species.
Sanguinotrema is a single-species fungal genus in the family Graphidaceae, and subfamily Graphidoideae. It contains the species Sanguinotrema wightii, a mostly corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen. This species has a pantropical distribution.
Echinoplaca basalis is a species of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichen in the family Gomphillaceae. It is found in the Southeastern United States.
Tricharia duotela is a species of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichen in the family Gomphillaceae. It is characterized by its pale greenish-grey to white color, small ascospores, and preference for open habitats. Found in South Florida, it can be found on the leaves of saw palmetto in pine barrens. This lichen is similar to other species in the genus Tricharia, but it is differentiated by its smaller ascospores and unique diahyphae.
Gyalideopsis sessilis is a species of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichen in the family Gomphillaceae. Found in Florida, it was formally described as a new species in 2015 by lichenologists William Sanders and Robert Lücking.
Asterothyrium vezdae is a species of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichen in the family Gomphillaceae. It is found in Bolivia, where it grows on the leaves of vascular plants in the Amazon rainforest. The lichen is distinguished from its closest relative, Asterothyrium octomerum, by the larger number of septa in its ascospores, and its and black apothecia.
Byssoloma fuscothallinum is a species of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichen in the family Pilocarpaceae. Found in Colombia and French Guiana, it was formally described as a new species in 2006 by lichenologist Robert Lücking.
Gyalideopsis aptrootii is a species of corticolous lichen in the family Gomphillaceae. Found in southern Brazil, it was described as a new species in 2018. Defining features of this lichen include the unique crescent-shaped structure of its hyphophores, the single-spored asci, and the relatively small size of the ascospores.
Podotara is a fungal genus in the family Pilocarpaceae. It is a monotypic genus, containing the single species Podotara pilophoriformis, an uncommon foliicolous (leaf-dwelling), crustose lichen that grows on Podocarpus totara, a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. Both the genus and the species were proposed in 1996.
Fellhanera ivoriensis is a species of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichen. First described in 2001, this species is distinguished from its relatives in the Fellhanera by its soredia-covered thallus and the characteristics of its apothecia. It is native to the Ivory Coast in West Africa.