The Teloschistaceae are a large family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. Many members of the Teloschistaceae are readily identifiable by their vibrant orange to yellow hue, a result of their frequent anthraquinone content. The presence of these anthraquinone pigments, which confer protection from ultraviolet light, enabled this group to expand from shaded forest habitats to harsher environmental conditions of sunny and arid ecosystems during the Late Cretaceous. Collectively, the family has a cosmopolitan distribution, although members occur predominantly in subtropical and temperate regions. Although most members are lichens that either live on rock or on bark, about 40 species are lichenicolous fungi–meaning they live on other lichens.
Caloplaca saxicola is a small bright orange crustose lichen that grows on rock all over the world. It is commonly called rock firedot lichen, jewel lichen or rock jewel lichen.
Caloplaca is a lichen genus comprising a number of distinct species. Members of the genus are commonly called firedot lichen, jewel lichen. gold lichens, "orange lichens", but they are not always orange, as in the case of C. albovariegata. The distribution of this lichen genus is worldwide, extending from Antarctica to the high Arctic. It includes a portion of northern North America and the Russian High Arctic. There are about thirty species of Caloplaca in the flora of the British Isles.
Caloplaca obamae is a species of crustose lichen in the fungus genus Caloplaca. It is the first species to be named in honor of United States President Barack Obama. C. obamae was discovered in 2007 by Kerry Knudsen on Santa Rosa Island in California and published in March 2009. Knudsen stated that he chose to honor Obama for "his support of science and scientific education" and wrote the manuscript for publication of the species in the time between Obama's election and his inauguration.
Caloplaca marina, the orange sea lichen, is a crustose, placodioid lichen. It has wide distribution, and can be found near the shore on rocks or walls. Calos in Greek means nice, placa in Greek is shield. Caloplaca therefore means ‘beautiful patches’.
Fulgogasparrea decipioides is a species of lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in Gangwon Province, South Korea. This species was originally described in 2011by Ulf Arup as a member of the large genus Caloplaca. The specific epithet decipioides refers to its similarity with Caloplaca decipiens. Arup and colleagues transferred it to genus Wetmoreana in 2013, before it was again transferred to Fulgogasparrea that same year, a genus in which it is the type species.
Caloplaca digitaurea is a species of lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in Chile, it was described as new to science in 2011.
Caloplaca mereschkowskiana is a species of lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in Western Australia, it was described as new to science in 2011. The specific epithet mereschkowskiana honours Russian biologist Konstantin Mereschkowski, who described Caloplaca brachyspora.
Cerothallia yorkensis is a species of crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in Australia, where it grows on limestone outcrops, it was described as new to science in 2011. The specific epithet yorkensis refers to the type locality, Yorke Peninsula. It was originally described as a member of the genus Caloplaca, but transferred to Cerothallia in 2013.
Caloplaca luteominia subspecies bolanderi is an endolithic lichen, a crustose lichen that grows inside rock, between the grains, with only the ruby red fruiting bodies exposed to the air. It is in the Teloschistaceae family.
Adolf Hugo Magnusson was a Swedish naturalist who specialized in lichenology. He was a school teacher in Gothenburg from 1909 to 1948, but spent his spare time on the study of lichens. He described about 900 new taxa, specializing in the genera Lecidea, Lecanora, Caloplaca, and Acarospora.
Thomas Hawkes Nash III is an American lichenologist. His research is about the biology and ecology of lichens, and the effects of air pollution on plants and lichens. He is known as an authority on the family Parmeliaceae. During his long career at the Arizona State University, he helped develop the lichen herbarium into a world-class collection with over 100,000 specimens representing more than 5000 species. In 2010, the year of his retirement, he was awarded the Acharius Medal for lifetime achievements in lichenology, and the following year had a Festschrift published in his honor.
Caloplaca wallabyensis is a species of crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in Australia, it was formally described as a new species in 2010 by lichenologists John Alan Elix, Sergey Kondratyuk, and Ingvar Kärnefelt. The type specimen was collected by Elix in Western Australia's Wallaby Hills Nature Reserve, for which the species is named. Here it was found growing on an old termite mound in Eucalyptus salmonophloia woodland with Xanthorrhoea shrubs and laterite rocks. It is known only from the type locality, where it is common.
Caloplaca allanii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) and crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in New Zealand, it was formally described as a new species by Alexander Zahlbruckner. The type specimen was collected by Lucy Cranwell on Anawhata Beach in 1932; she sent a dried specimen to Zahlbruckner for identification. The specific epithet allanii honours New Zealand botanist Harry Allan.
Caloplaca tephromelae is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in Australia, it was formally described as a new species in 2021 by Gintaras Kantvilas, Ave Suija, and Jurga Motiejūnaitė. The type specimen was collected from the northern rim of Callitris Gully ; here it was found growing on the thallus of the lichen Tephromela atra, which itself was growing on dolerite outcrops. Caloplaca tephromelae is only known to occur at the type locality. It appears as whitish areolate sections, outlined by a dark band of prothallus, growing within the thallus of its host lichen. Another recorded host is Tephromela granularis. The specific epithet tephromelae refers to the genus of the host.
Caloplaca ahtii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in Europe, it was formally described as a new species in 1994 by Ulrik Søchting. The type locality was in Finland, and the type specimen was found growing on Populus. The species epithet honours Finnish lichenologist Teuvo Ahti. In 2022, the species was documented from North-Western European Russia. It is also found in North America.
Microsphaeropsis caloplacae is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-eating) fungus in the family Didymosphaeriaceae. It is only known to occur in a single locality along the Kızılırmak River in Turkey, where it grows parasitically on the crustose lichen Caloplaca persica.
Caloplaca kedrovopadensis is a little-known species of crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is only found in the Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve in the Russian Far East, and on the Jiri Mountain of South Korea. The lichen has been recorded growing on rocks and on bark.
Caloplaca maculata is a species of lichenized fungi endemic to New Zealand.
