| Dictyomeridium | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Dothideomycetes |
| Order: | Trypetheliales |
| Family: | Trypetheliaceae |
| Genus: | Dictyomeridium Aptroot, M.P.Nelsen & Lücking (2016) |
| Type species | |
| Dictyomeridium proponens (Nyl.) Aptroot, M.P.Nelsen & Lücking (2016) | |
| Species | |
D. amylosporum Contents | |
Dictyomeridium is a genus of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens in the family Trypetheliaceae. [1] It has nine species.
The genus was circumscribed in 2016 by lichenologists André Aptroot, Matthew Nelson, and Robert Lücking, with Dictyomeridium proponens assigned as the type species. The seven species they included in the genus were mostly previously classified in the genus Polymeridium , while the type species was known by different names in the genus Campylothelium . Phylogenetic analysis showed that the group of species was distant from the core group of their previous genus. [2] An eight species, from Australia, was added to the genus in 2022. [3]
Dictyomeridium is distinguished from other genera in the family Trypetheliaceae by its muriform (multichambered) ascospores, the lateral ostioles of its ascomata, and several subtle microscopic differences in the form of the hamathecium and the ascospores. Dictyomeridium species are distinguished from each other by their reaction to the UV test , the dimensions of their spores, and by the presence or absence of a red pigment in their ostioles. All species lack a cortex , and have conical to pyriform ascomata with eccentric (i.e., not placed centrally) ostioles. Sometimes, pycnidia are present. [2]
The Trypetheliaceae are a family of mainly lichen-forming fungi in the order Trypetheliales. The family consists almost exclusively of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens with an almost strictly tropical distribution.
Architrypethelium is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Trypetheliaceae.
Astrothelium is a large genus of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichens in the family Trypetheliaceae. The genus is characterized by a corticate thallus and diverse ascomata structures, which can be simple, aggregated, or forming pseudostromata. Astrothelium is also notable for the carbonized walls of its ascomata, the so-called textura intricata arrangement of cells in these walls, and various forms of distoseptate, transparent spores.
Polymeridium is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Trypetheliaceae. Species in the genus are corticolous (bark-dwelling) and typically occur in tropical areas.
Pseudopyrenula is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Trypetheliaceae.
Viridothelium is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Trypetheliaceae. It has 11 species. The genus was circumscribed by Robert Lücking Matthew Nelsen, and André Aptroot in 2016, with Viridothelium virens assigned as the type species. Lichens in this genus were previously assigned to genus Trypethelium, as part of the Trypethelium virens clade.
Bathelium is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Trypetheliaceae.
Astrothelium bivelum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by lichenologists André Aptroot and Marcela Cáceres. The type specimen was collected by the authors in the Parque Natural Municipal de Porto Velho, in a primary rainforest. The lichen has a smooth and somewhat shiny, ochraceous-green thallus with a 0.4 cm-wide rough and irregular prothallus; the thallus covers areas of up to 3 cm (1.2 in) in diameter. The presence of the lichen does not induce the formation of galls in the host. The ascomata are pear-shaped (pyriform), measure 0.5–0.7 mm in diameter, typically aggregate in groups of two to six, and are usually immersed in the bark tissue. The characteristics that distinguish it from other members of Astrothelium include the diffusely pseudostromatic, erumpent ascomata that are covered by thallus and have an external pink pigment, with each containing a single group of fused ascomata; and the 5-septate ascospores. A. bivelum is one of the few Astrothelium-like species with 5-septate ascospores that does not contain lichexanthone.
Astrothelium curvisporum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by lichenologists André Aptroot and Marcela Cáceres. The type specimen was collected by the authors in the Parque Natural Municipal de Porto Velho, in a primary rainforest. The lichen has a smooth and somewhat shiny, olive-green to olive-brown thallus that lacks a prothallus and covers areas of up to 5 cm (2 in) in diameter. The presence of the lichen does not induce the formation of galls in the host. The ascomata are more or less spherical (globose), measuring 0.8–1.2 mm in diameter, and typically occur in groups of 3 to 15, usually immersed in pseudostromata. The species epithet curvisporum refers to the curved ascospores, which have five septa that divide the spore into distinct compartments. The spores have a thick gelatinous layer that is 17–22 μm thick. No lichen products were detected in collected samples of the species using thin-layer chromatography. The characteristics that distinguish A. curvisporum from other members of Astrothelium include its grouped ascomata and its curved ascospores.
Astrothelium decemseptatum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by lichenologists André Aptroot and Marcela Cáceres. The type specimen was collected by the authors in the Sítio Ecológico Buriti on Lago Cujubim, in a disturbed rainforest. The lichen has a smooth and somewhat shiny, pale yellowish-grey thallus that lacks a prothallus and covers areas of up to 7 cm (2.8 in) in diameter. The ascomata are pear-shaped (pyriform) and typically occur in aggregated groups of two to five, usually immersed in the bark tissue. The species epithet decemseptatum refers to the ascospores, which usually have between nine and eleven septa that divide the spore into distinct compartments. Anthraquinone compounds were detected in collected samples of the lichen using thin-layer chromatography. The characteristics that distinguish it from other members of Astrothelium include its ascomata, which are solitary to irregularly confluent, immersed in large thallus verrucae, and have scattered, external, pink pigment, and an inspersedhamathecium; and the dimensions of the ascospores.
Astrothelium duplicatum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by lichenologists André Aptroot and Marcela Cáceres. The type specimen was collected by the authors in the Parque Natural Municipal de Porto Velho, where it was found growing on the smooth bark of a tree in a park near a rainforest, and on tree twigs in the forest. The lichen has a smooth and somewhat shiny, olive-green thallus surrounded by a black prothallus and covers areas of up to 5 cm (2 in) in diameter. The presence of the lichen does not induce the formation of galls in its host. The ascomata are roughly spherical and typically aggregate in groups of about five to fifty, usually immersed in the bark tissue as pseudostromata. Its ascospores are hyaline, spindle-shaped and measure 45–55 by 11–15 μm. The use of thin-layer chromatography on collected lichen samples revealed the presence of an anthraquinone compound, possibly parietin. The characteristics that distinguish Astrothelium duplicatum from other members of Astrothelium include the internal, yellow pigment of its ascomata; and the dimensions of its ascospores, which are about 3–4 times as long as they are broad. Astrothelium mesoduplex is similar in appearance, but that species lacks yellow to orange pseudostromata and has shorter ascospores.
Astrothelium eumultiseptatum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by lichenologists André Aptroot and Marcela Cáceres. The type specimen was collected by the authors in the Fazenda São Francisco, in a low-altitude primary rainforest. The lichen has a smooth and somewhat shiny, pale yellowish-grey thallus with a black prothallus line and covers areas of up to 7 cm (2.8 in) in diameter. The ascomata are pear-shaped (pyriform) and typically aggregate in groups of two to five, usually immersed in the bark tissue as pseudostromata. The ostioles of the ascomata contains lichexanthone, a lichen product that causes these structures to glow yellow when lit with a long-wavelength UV light. The main characteristic that distinguishes it from other members of Astrothelium are its ascospores, which measure 65–70 by 15–17 μm, and only have transverse septa.
Astrothelium eustomurale is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by lichenologists André Aptroot and Marcela Cáceres. The type specimen was collected by the authors in the Parque Natural Municipal de Porto Velho, in a low-altitude primary rainforest. The lichen has a smooth and somewhat shiny, pale yellowish-grey thallus that lacks a prothallus and covers areas of up to 12 cm (4.7 in) in diameter. The presence of the lichen does not induce the formation of galls in the host. The ascomata are pear-shaped (pyriform) and typically occur in aggregates of two to five, usually immersed in the bark tissue under the pseudostromata and with a whitish-coloured tissue that contrasts with the surrounding thallus. Black pycnidia are abundant on the pseudostromata. The area around and including the ostiole of the ascomata contains lichexanthone, a lichen product that causes these areas to glow yellow when lit with a long-wavelength UV light. The characteristics that distinguish it from other members of Astrothelium include the UV+ yellow nature of the ostiole; and the fused, erumpent pseudostromatic ascomata that have a white cover contrasting it with the thallus colour.
Astrothelium flavomurisporum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by lichenologists André Aptroot and Marcela Cáceres. The type specimen was collected by the authors from the Estação Ecológica de Cuniã, in a low-altitude primary rainforest. The lichen has a smooth and somewhat shiny, olive-green thallus that lacks a prothallus and covers areas of up to 7 cm (2.8 in) in diameter. The ascomata are pear-shaped (pyriform), measuring 0.5–0.7 mm in diameter, and typically aggregate in groups of two to five, usually quite immersed in the bark tissue. Ascospores are hyaline, ellipsoid, and muriform ; they measure 165–200 by 28–35 μm and have a thickened central septum. The presence of the lichen does not induce the formation of galls in the host. Thin-layer chromatography did not reveal the presence of any lichen products in the collected lichen samples. The characteristics that distinguish Astrothelium flavomurisporum from other members of Astrothelium include the dispersed groups of fused, immersed ascomata; and the median thickening of the ascospores.
Architrypethelium hyalinum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in Costa Rica and Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2008 by lichenologist André Aptroot. The type specimen was collected by Harrie Sipman from the Las Cruces Biological Station in Puntarenas. The lichen has a smooth to uneven, olive-green thallus. Its ascomata occur solitarily, have an apical ostiole, and measure 0.7–1.5 mm in diameter. Ascospores number 4 to 8 per ascus, have an oblong to ellipsoid shape with 3 septa, and measure 100–150 by 30–50 μm. These spores are among the largest of the 3-septate lichens in the Trypetheliaceae. Both the thallus and ascomata contain lichexanthone, a lichen product that causes these structures to glow yellow when lit with a long-wavelength UV light; A. hyalinum is the only species in genus Architrypethelium that contains lichexanthone.
Nigrovothelium is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Trypetheliaceae. It has three species. The genus was circumscribed in 2016 by lichenologists Robert Lücking, Matthew Nelsen, and André Aptroot, to contain species formerly in the Trypethelium tropicum species group. The type species, Nigrovothelium tropicum, was originally described by Erik Acharius in 1810, as a species of Verrucaria.
Astrothelium carassense is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Robert Lücking, Matthew Nelsen, and Marcelo Marcelli. The type specimen was collected by the first author from the Santuário do Caraça, at an altitude between 1,300 and 1,400 m. The lichen has an uneven to bumpy, pale olive-yellow thallus that covers areas of up to 10 cm (4 in) in diameter. The pseudostromata are covered with an orange anthraquinone compound. The species epithet carassense refers to the type locality. The characteristics of the lichen that distinguish it from others in genus Astrothelium are its pseudostromatic ascomata, which are erumpent, with an orange cover; and the dimensions and form of its ascospores, which are muriform and measure 100–170 by 30–40 μm. Astrothelium purpurascens is somewhat similar in appearance to A. carassense, but it lacks pseudostromatic pigment and has slightly smaller ascospores.
Astrothelium macrostomoides is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Robert Lücking, Matthew Nelsen, Michel Navarro Benatti. The type specimen was collected by the first author from the Santuário do Caraça at an altitude between 1,300 to 1,400 m ; there, in the Atlantic Forest biome, it was found growing on bark in a gallery forest along a river. The lichen has an uneven to coarsely bullate, olive-green thallus that covers areas of up to 7 cm (2.8 in). Ascomata are in the form of perithecia, which are arranged in aggregated groups of 5–10 in pseudostromata. The pseudostromata contain lichexanthone, which is a lichen product that causes these structures to fluoresce yellow when lit with a long-wavelength UV light. The species epithet macrostomoides alludes to the similarity of the lichen with Astrothelium macrostomum, from which it differs by having larger ascospores. The characteristics of the lichen that distinguish it from others in genus Astrothelium are the diffusely pseudostromatic ascomata with erumpent pseudostromata, covered by thallus, each with a single group of fused ascomata; and the dimensions and form of the ascospores, which measure 80–110 by 17–25 μm, and have from five to seven septa.
Astrothelium sinuosum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by André Aptroot and Emerson Gumboski. The type specimen was collected by the second author from the Rio Pardinho e Rio Vermelho Environmental Protection Area ; there, in an Atlantic Forest habitat, it was found growing on smooth tree bark.
Dictyomeridium lueckingii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in Bolivia, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Adam Flakus and André Aptroot. The type specimen was collected by the first author from Entre Ríos near Soledad at an elevation of 1,700 m (5,600 ft). It is only known to occur at the type locality, in the Tucumano-Boliviano montane forest. The species epithet honours German lichenologist Robert Lücking, "for his magnificent contribution to the knowledge of tropical lichens, on the occasion of his 50th birthday".