| Fissurina amazonica | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Graphidales |
| Family: | Graphidaceae |
| Genus: | Fissurina |
| Species: | F. amazonica |
| Binomial name | |
| Fissurina amazonica | |
Fissurina amazonica is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. [1] Found in Brazil, it is a shade-loving species that thrives in the understory of undisturbed rainforests.
Fissurina amazonica was scientifically described as a new species in 2014 by lichenologists Marcela Cáceres, André Aptroot, and Robert Lücking. The type specimen was found specifically at the UNIR Federal University campus south of Porto Velho in Rondônia, Brazil. The species epithet refers to the Amazon rainforest, where the lichen was discovered. [2]
This lichen is characterized by its small, closed, and densely branched lirellae , as well as paraphyses that are smooth at their tips. These features distinguish it from the similar Fissurina dumastii , which has larger lirellae and a different appearance. Fissurina amazonica has a greyish-green thallus with a smooth to uneven texture, which can reach up to 5 cm (2 in) in diameter; there is no prothallus surrounding the thallus. Its photobiont partner is Trenephlia , a genus of green algae. [2]
The ascospores of Fissurina amazonica are ellipsoid to oval in shape, contain 3 septa, and measure 13–17 by 6–8 μm. They are hyaline and have lens-shaped to angular lumina . Only a few ascospores have been observed in the available material, so their full range of morphological variation is not yet known. No secondary chemical substances have been detected in Fissurina amazonica, and both the medulla and microscopic sections showing negative reactions to standard chemical tests. [2]
Fissurina amazonica was originally described from primary rainforest habitats in the state of Rondônia, Brazil. It is a shade-loving species that thrives in the understory of undisturbed rainforests. The lichen's inconspicuous nature has likely led to it being misidentified as Fissurina dumastii in the past, but its unique phylogenetic placement and morphological differences warrant its recognition as a separate species. [2] In 2020, it was recorded from the Atlantic Forest remnant in Pedra Talhada (Alagoas, eastern Brazil). [3]
Fissurina is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has about 160 species, most of which are found in tropical regions.
Crustospathula is a genus of five species of crustose lichens in the family Malmideaceae. They are characterized by their stalked and sometimes branched cartilaginous soredia and Bacidia-like apothecia.
Diorygma microsporum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It was described as new to science in 2011. It has a neotropical distribution, and has been collected in Florida, Colombia, Brazil, and India. Notable for its small ascospores, this lichen thrives in undisturbed rainforests and serves as an indicator of forest health.
Acanthothecis oryzoides is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2022 by André Aptroot, Robert Lücking, and Marcela Eugenia da Silva Cáceres. The type specimen was collected in the Parque Natural De Porto Velho (Rondônia) at an altitude of 100 m (330 ft); here, it was found growing on twig bark near a rainforest. The lichen has a dull, glaucous-white thallus, lacking a prothallus. The ascospores are hyaline, ellipsoid, and measure 69–80 by 25–35 μm; they have from 9 to 13 transverse septa with light constrictions at the septa.
Acanthothecis rimosa is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2022 by André Aptroot, Robert Lücking, and Marcela Eugenia da Silva Cáceres. The type specimen was collected from the Pedra Talhada private area in Quebrangulo (Alagoas) at an elevation between 500 and 700 m. The lichen has a smooth and somewhat shiny, mineral-grey thallus lacking a cortex, and also lacking a surrounding prothallus. The asci contain two spores. The ascospores are hyaline, ellipsoid, and measure 45–53 by 13–16 μm; they have 15–19 transverse and 3–4 longitudinal septa. Stictic acid, a lichen product, is found in the lichen and is detectable using thin-layer chromatography.
Acanthothecis submuriformis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2022 by André Aptroot, Robert Lücking, and Marcela Eugenia da Silva M.Cáceres. The type specimen was collected from the Parque Natural Municipal ; here the lichen was found growing on tree bark in primary rainforest.
Astrothelium studerae is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2019 by lichenologists André Aptroot and Marcela Eugenia da Silva Cáceres. The type specimen was collected by the authors from the Pedra Talhada Biological Reserve at an altitude between 500 and 700 m. The specific epithet studerae honours Anita Studer, "the protector of the isolated patch of Atlantic rainforest in Alagoas where the new species was collected".
Pseudochapsa is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has 19 species. It was circumscribed in 2012 by Sittiporn Parnmen, Robert Lücking, and Helge Thorsten Lumbsch, with Pseudochapsa dilatata as the type species. Pseudochapsa differs from Chapsa it that its excipulum is typically brown. Additionally, its ascospores are mostly discoseptate and amyloid. The generic name combines the Greek pseudo ("false") with the genus name Chapsa.
Pseudochapsa aptrootiana is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) in the family Graphidaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2018 by Marcela Eugenia da Silva Cáceres, Thamires Almeida Pereira, and Robert Lücking. The type specimen was collected from Mata do Cipó at an elevation of 80–100 m (260–330 ft); here, in an Atlantic Rainforest remnant, it was found in the forest understory. It has a light grey thallus lacking a prothallus and a cortex. Its ascospores, which number eight per ascus, are oblong to spindle-shaped (fusiform) with between 11 and 15 septa and measure 30–35 by 7–8 μm. Lichen products that occur in Pseudochapsa aptrootiana include stictic and constictic acid as major or submajor metabolites, and minor to trace amounts of cryptostictic, hypostictic, and acetylhypoconstictic acids. The species epithet honours Dutch lichenologist André Aptroot, "for his invaluable contributions to tropical lichenology".
Cruentotrema is a genus of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichens in the family Graphidaceae. It has seven species.
Aggregatorygma is a small genus of lichenized fungi in the family Graphidaceae.
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.
Crustospathula amazonica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. Found in South America, it was formally described as a new species in 2014 by lichenologists André Aptroot, Marcela Cáceres, and Einar Timdal. The type specimen was collected by the first two authors from the Parque Natural Municipal de Porto Velho, where it was found growing on the smooth bark of a tree in a primary rainforest. It also occurs in French Guiana and Peru, and tends to grow in association with lichens of the genus Porina and with thelotremoid members of the family Graphidaceae. The lichen has a film-like, green thallus consisting of fine, aggregated granules; no prothallus is present. Soredia are whitish, roughly spherical, and occur at the tips of cartilaginous stalks up to 3 mm tall.
Cruentotrema amazonum is a little-known species of script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in Brazil, Thailand, and Vietnam, where it grows in the understory of primary rainforests.
Fissurina amyloidea is a little-known species of script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in the primary rainforests of Rondônia, Brazil. It is characterized by its weakly carbonizedlirellae and thick-walled, strongly amyloid ascospores. Despite its superficial similarity to Fissurina subfurfuracea, F. amyloidea exhibits unique anatomical features that set it apart from other species within the genus.
Fissurina chrysocarpa is a little-known species of script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found primarily in the rainforests of Rondônia, Brazil, it is distinguished by its bright orange lirellae.
Fissurina duplicans is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in primary rainforests of Brazil. The lichen has an endoperidermal thallus and a double margin of lirellae, setting it apart from similar species.