Caloplaca sterilis

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Caloplaca sterilis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Teloschistales
Family: Teloschistaceae
Genus: Caloplaca
Species:
C. sterilis
Binomial name
Caloplaca sterilis
Šoun, Khodosovtsev, Vondrák (2011)
Caloplaca sterilis
Holotype site: Cape Tarchankut, Ukraine

Caloplaca sterilis is a corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen belonging to the family Teloschistaceae, [1] described in 2011. It is primarily found in steppe and sand dune habitats in the Black Sea region, and has been recorded from Bulgaria, Romania, southwest Russia, and Ukraine. Caloplaca sterilis is characterised by tiny squamules / areoles with contrasting pale greyish-green to greenish soredia. It is easily overlooked and challenging to identify when completely sorediate and sterile (i.e., without any apothecia), especially as its soredia do not contain the typical Sedifolia-grey pigment.

Taxonomy

The lichen was formally described in 2011 by the lichenologists Jaroslav Šoun, Oleksandr Khodosovtsev, and Jan Vondrák. The species name sterilis reflects the often sterile state of this species. The type specimen was collected by the second author from cape Tarchankut on the coast of the Tarkhankut Peninsula, in the Chernomorsky District of Ukraine. [2]

Description

The thallus of Caloplaca sterilis is scattered, forming areoles or squamules that can be up to 2–3 cm wide. It is generally thin, grey-green, and often white with pruina . The areoles or squamules are slightly convex, measuring 50–300  μm in width and 50–130 μm in thickness. The cortical layer is alveolate (honeycombed), 8–12 μm thick, and the algal layer is thick, extending to the lower thallus surface. [2]

Soralia develop on the margins of areoles or occasionally on the thallus surface, and are greenish or greenish-grey, measuring 80–250 μm. Soredia are 15–35 μm in diameter and may form consoredia . The thalli sometimes form continuous greenish sorediate crusts. Apothecia are very rare, lecanorine , measuring 0.2–0.6 mm in diameter, with a yellow-orange to orange disc . Pycnidia are immersed and inconspicuous, with bacilliform conidia measuring approximately 3 by 1 μm. [2]

Caloplaca sterilis does not contain anthraquinone pigments or Sedifolia-grey in the thallus and soralia. The soredia's unique colour within the Caloplaca cerina species complex is noted for its lack of Sedifolia-grey. [2]

Habitat and distribution

This species grows on the basal parts of woody plant stems such as Artemisia , Halocnemum , and Thymus , as well as on plant debris and dead wood in steppe and sand dune habitats. It is a common species in steppe landscapes and coastal habitats on sand dunes in Southeast Europe. Associated lichen species include Caloplaca raesaenenii , C. phlogina , Lecania cyrtella , and Xanthoria parietina . [2]

Old specimens from Cherry Hinton near Cambridge (UK) seem to be identical to this species, but molecular data is needed to confirm their identity. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<i>Flavoplaca austrocitrina</i> Species of lichen

Flavoplaca austrocitrina is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is widely distributed in Europe, and has also been recorded in South America.

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.

Micarea viridileprosa is a species of crustose lichen in the family Pilocarpaceae that was first described in 2001. This crustose lichen is known to grow on bark, wood, and soil, and is distinguishable by its bright greenish soredia.

Caloplaca pseudocitrina, a little-known species of lichen saxicolous (rock-dwelling) lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in southern Tajikistan, it has a squamulose (scaley) thallus forming extensive yellow-orange spots. It was formally described as a new species in 2002 by the lichenologists Imomnazar Kudratov and Oleksandr Khodosovtsev.

Flavoplaca kantvilasii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in Australia, it was formally described as a new species in 2007.

Flavoplaca arcisproxima is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found primarily in the coastal regions of the Crimean Peninsula and the eastern Mediterranean, particularly in Crete, Greece.

<i>Kuettlingeria soralifera</i> Species of lichen

Kuettlingeria soralifera is a saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen species in the family Teloschistaceae, first described in 2006. It is similar to Kuettlingeria xerica but distinguished by the presence of soredia on its thallus.

Lazarenkoiopsis is a single-species fungal genus in the family Teloschistaceae. It contains Lazarenkoiopsis ussuriensis, a corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen species found in the Russian Far East.

Filsoniana ferdinandmuelleri is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in Australia. The lichen has a squamulose (scaly) thallus, with a range of bright yellow to greenish-yellow and brownish-orange colours in its soredia and apothecia, respectively. The areoles of this lichen are varied in size, slightly raised from the thallus surface, and each carries one to four apothecia. The soralia are rounded or irregularly shaped, covering most of the thallus surface as a yellow to greenish-yellow mass. The apothecia have dark brownish-orange discs, surrounded by slightly paler yellow margins, with the spore-bearing asci containing typically eight brownish-golden ascospores.

Hanstrassia lenae is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) in the family Teloschistaceae. Described as a new species in 2007, the lichen is found in Russian Far East, Mongolia, and Siberia. It closely resembles Elenkiniana ehrenbergii but distinguished by the presence of soralia on its thallus. This species has a thick, effigurate thallus with weak marginal lobes and developed marginal, labriform (lip-shaped) soralia.

<i>Coppinsiella</i> Genus of lichens

Coppinsiella is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It contains five species of corticolous and saxicolous crustose lichens with a distribution in Europe, Asia, and North America. Coppinsiella bears resemblance to the genus Athallia, but it is distinguished by its more developed thallus, typically featuring distinctive crater-like soralia and zeorine-form apothecia, which lack a thalline margin.

<i>Kuettlingeria neotaurica</i> Species of lichen

Kuettlingeria neotaurica is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae.

References

  1. "Caloplaca sterilis Šoun, Khodos. & Vondrák". Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Šoun, Jaroslav; Vondrák, Jan; Søchting, Ulrik; Hrouzek, Pavel; Khodosovtsev, Alexander; Arup, Ulf (2011). "Taxonomy and phylogeny of the Caloplaca cerina group in Europe". The Lichenologist. 43 (2): 113–135. doi:10.1017/S0024282910000721.