Fissurina insidiosa

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Fissurina insidiosa
Fissurina insidiosa - Flickr - pellaea.jpg
Closeup of thallus surface, showing several lirellae ; scale bar=0.5 mm
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Graphidales
Family: Graphidaceae
Genus: Fissurina
Species:
F. insidiosa
Binomial name
Fissurina insidiosa
C.Knight & Mitt. (1860)
Synonyms [1]
  • Graphis insidiosa(C.Knight & Mitt.) C.Knight & Mitt. (1867)

Fissurina insidiosa is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. [2] Found in the Southern Hemisphere, it has been recorded from mainland Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific region, the Caribbean, and India.

Contents

Taxonomy

The lichen was formally described as a new species by Charles Knight and William Mitten in 1860. [3] They proposed to transfer it to the genus Graphis in 1867. [4]

Description

The thallus of Fissurina insidiosa is characterised by its dull grey to dingy olive-grey colour and glossy appearance. Typically, it forms widespread, diffuse patches that can extend up to approximately 10 cm (4 in) wide. The thallus is usually continuous but often displays cracks and is between 20 and 100  μm thick. It contains crystals of calcium oxalate. [5]

The lirellae of this species are scattered and typically very numerous. They range in shape from simple to occasionally forked and can be straight, curved, or sinuous, extending up to 2.5 mm in length. Initially, they appear as cracks in the thallus, with the cortex edges curving upwards to form a pseudo-margin. Over time, these develop into a pair of swollen, pale beige-brown lips, which are often cracked and rough, measuring 0.3 to 0.9 mm in width. The disc of the lirellae remains obscured. [5]

The exciple , visible in cross-section, is poorly differentiated from adjacent tissues and measures 10 to 30 μm thick. It has a yellow colour, which reacts K+ (orange-red). The periphysoids are seldom observed and are approximately 3 μm thick without any warty features. The hypothecium layer is relatively thin, ranging from 10 to 20 μm in thickness. [5]

The hymenium layer is more substantial, measuring between 90 and 120 μm thick. The asci typically contain 6 to 8 spores and measure 85 to 110 by 18 to 25 μm, although intact asci are rarely observed. The paraphyses are slender, about 1 to 1.5 μm wide, with tips that are neither expanded nor adorned with warts or spines. [5]

The ascospores are broadly ellipsoidal with rounded ends, and they display a transverse 3-septate structure. They measure approximately 13 to 25 by 6 to 9 μm and feature a halo that can swell when exposed to a solution of potassium hydroxide. Initially, the locules of the spores have a lens shape but soon become rounded. [5]

Similar species

Fissurina dumasti is similar in appearance to F. insidiosa, but differs in thallus and apothecial morphology, and the ascospores of F. dumastii are distinctly amyloid, a characteristic absent in F. insidiosa. [6]

Habitat and distribution

This species has a broad distribution in the Southern Hemisphere, with recorded presences in mainland Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific region, the Caribbean, and India. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Fissurina</i> Genus of fungi

Fissurina is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has about 160 species, most of which are found in tropical regions.

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.

Fissurina sporolata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in India, it was formally described as a new species in 2012 by Bharati Sharma, Pradnya Khadilkar, and Urmila Makhija. The type specimen was collected from Hebri (Karnataka), where it was found growing on a roadside tree trunk near a humid deciduous forest. This lichen has a brown, glossy, warty thallus that is finely cracked and rough. The lirellate ascomata are simple to rarely branched, immersed, the same colour as the thallus, and terminally acute, with a narrow disc that lacks pruina. The ascospores are 8-spored, hyaline, muriform, and ellipsoidal, multilocular, measuring 42–57 by 17–25 μm, with a 5–7 μm-thick halo. The hymenium is clear and hyaline, 225–250 μm high, and the hypothecium is hyaline and 20–25 μm high. No lichen products were detected in collected specimens.

Fissurina submonospora is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in India, it was formally described as a new species in 2012 by Bharati Sharma, Pradnya Khadilkar, and Urmila Makhija. The type specimen was collected from Upper Kodayar, where it was found growing in a humid evergreen forest. This lichen has a brownish grey to dark brown, cracked and uneven thallus, delimited by a black hypothalloid region at its periphery. Its ascomata are short, simple to branched, and immersed, with a structure of dumastii-type, while the disc is slit-like. The ascospores are hyaline, muriform, with 10–15 transverse and 4–5 longitudinal septa, and typically measure 70–100 by 20–50 μm, with a 2.5–10 μm-thick halo.

Acanthothecis collateralis is a rare endemic species of script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in the Andaman Islands of India, it was formally described as a new species in 2007 by Urmila Makhija and Bharati Adawadkar. It is distinguished from other Acanthothecis species by its specific arrangement of ascomata and distinct chemical composition.

Fissurina capsulata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in India, it was formally described as a new species in 2007 by Urmila Makhija and Bharati Adawadkar. The lichen is native to Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, where it was first identified near Daisy Bank in 1975.

Fissurina coarctata is a species of script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in India, where it grows in tropical rainforests and moist deciduous forests. This corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen is primarily found on exposed tree trunks along roadsides. Its thallus has a yellowish-brown to olive-green colour and has a thick, verrucose texture. The species was formally described as new to science in 2007 by Urmila Makhija and Bharati Adawadkar.

Fissurina karnatakensis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in India, it was formally described as a new species in 2007 by Urmila Makhija and Bharati Adawadkar. It grows on tree trunks in exposed conditions along roadsides within moist forests, particularly in Karnataka, a state known for its many endemic lichen species.

Fissurina khasiana is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in India, specifically in the evergreen forests of Upper Shillong in the Khasi Hills; its species name is derived from the region where it was first collected. The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2007 by Urmila Makhija and Bharati Adawadkar.

Fissurina longiramea is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in various locations across India, including the Andaman Islands, Karnataka, and the Nicobar Islands, where it grows in tropical rainforests. The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2007 by Urmila Makhija and Bharati Adawadkar.

Fissurina amazonica is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in Brazil, it is a shade-loving species that thrives in the understory of undisturbed 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.

<i>Fissurina alligatorensis</i> Species of lichen

Fissurina alligatorensis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Characteristics of the lichen include its lack of secondary compounds and an ecorticate thallus. Its habitat is centred around the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina, USA, and it has a preference for soft-barked trees. While it can easily be confused with other Fissurina species, there are specific characters that distinguish it, such as its violet ascospores and its lirellate fruiting bodies.

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.

Fissurina elixii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in New South Wales and Tasmania in Australia.

Allographa anguilliradians is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It has been found in Trinidad and Tobago and Central-West Brazil. Its thallus covers an area of 3 to 7 cm in diameter with a slim profile and a variable surface texture, with a distinct metallic pale grey-olive colour without a prothallus. Its reproductive structures, known as lirellae, form a star-like pattern with black, carbonised outer layers and clear, colourless hymenium, while its ascospores are oblong and segmented, reacting violet-blue to iodine-based stains.

Caloplaca nothoholocarpa is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in Chile.

Graphis paraschiffneri is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is only known to occur in Nicaragua. Closely related to Graphis schiffneri, the lichen is distinguished from this lookalike by its longer ascospores with more septa and extended lirellae.

<i>Baeomyces heteromorphus</i> Species of lichen

Baeomyces heteromorphus is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling) lichen in the family Baeomycetaceae. It has an Australasian distribution. Characteristics of the lichen include its greenish-grey thallus, the pink to brownish discs of its apothecia, translucent spores lacking internal partitions (septa), and the presence of the secondary metabolites norstictic acid and connorstictic acid.

References

  1. "Synonymy. Current Name: Fissurina insidiosa C. Knight & Mitt., Trans. Linn. Soc. London 23: 102 (1860)". Species Fungorum . Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  2. "Fissurina insidiosa C. Knight & Mitt". Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  3. Knight, C.; Mitten, W. (1860). "Contributions to the lichenographia of New Zealand; being an account, with figures of some new species of Graphideae and allied lichens". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 23: 101–106. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1860.tb00124.x.
  4. Hooker, J.D. (1867). Handbook of the New Zealand Flora. London: L. Reeve & Co. p. 586.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kantvilas, G. (2023). de Salas (ed.). "Fissurina, version 2023:1". Flora of Tasmania Online. Tasmanian Herbarium, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
  6. Joshi, Santosh; Nguyen, Thi Thuy; Dzung, Nguyen Anh; Jayalal, Udeni; Oh, Soon-Ok; Hur, Jae-Seoun (2013). "The lichen genus Fissurina (Graphidaceae) in Vietnam". Mycotaxon. 124 (1): 309–321. doi:10.5248/124.309.