The Teloschistaceae are a large family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. 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 – meaning they are non-lichenised fungi that live on other lichens. 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.
Variospora is a genus of crustose lichens, belonging to the family Teloschistaceae.
Gyalolechia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi belonging to the family Teloschistaceae. It contains 18 species of crustose lichens.
Austroplaca is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has 10 species. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Ulrik Søchting, Patrik Frödén, and Ulf Arup, with Austroplaca ambitiosa assigned as the type species.
Calogaya is a genus of lichen-forming fungi belonging to the family Teloschistaceae. It has 19 species. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Ulf Arup, Ulrik Søchting, and Patrik Frödén. The generic name Calogaya honours Dr. Ester Gaya, a Spanish botanist from the University of Barcelona.
Flavoplaca is a genus of crust-like or scaly lichens in the family Teloschistaceae. It has 28 species with a mostly Northern Hemisphere distribution.
Squamulea is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has 15 species. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Ulf Arup, Ulrik Søchting, and Patrik Frödén, with Squamulea subsoluta assigned as the type species. Five species were included in the original account of the genus. The genus name alludes to the squamulose growth form of most of its species. Squamulea has a worldwide distribution; when the genus was originally created, the centre of distribution was thought to be in southwestern North America.
Calogaya arnoldii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen that is common and widespread in Europe and Asia. It is in the family Teloschistaceae. It was first formally described as a new species in 1876 by Hugh Algernon Weddell, as a species of Lecanora. After being transferred to Caloplaca in 1915, it was considered as a member of that genus for nearly a century. Molecular phylogenetic studies showed Caloplaca to be polyphyletic, and it was divided up into several smaller genera in 2013. Calogaya arnoldii was one of eight species transferred to the newly circumscribed Calogaya by Ulf Arup, Patrik Frödén, and Ulrik Søchting. The lichen is part of a species complex with complicated taxonomy, and in which intermediate phenotypes are frequently observed, making it difficult to reliably distinguish them. Calogaya saxicola is one such similar species, and it has often been confused with C, arnoldii in areas where they co-occur, as the differences between them are subtle.
Wetmoreana is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has two crustose, saxicolous (rock-dwelling) species.
Xanthocarpia crenulatella is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae.
Teloschistopsis is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has three species.
Sirenophila gintarasii is a species of lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in Australia, it was formally described as a new species in 2009 by lichenologists Sergey Kondratyuk and Ingvar Kärnefelt, as a member of the genus Caloplaca. The type specimen was collected by the authors from the Camel Rock reserve. There it was found growing on coastal rock outcrops, along with the crustose species Sirenophila eos and Dufourea ligulata, some of which had been deformed by the lichenicolous fungus species Arthonia sytnikii and Pyrenidium actinellum. The species epithet honours Tasmanian lichen lichenologist Gintaras Kantvilas. Ulf Arup and colleagues transferred the taxon to the genus Sirenophila in 2013, following a molecular phylogenetics-based restructuring of the family Teloschistaceae. Sirenophila gintarasii occurs in New South Wales and Victoria.
Sirenophila eos is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It was first formally described as a new species in 2007 by Sergey Kondratyuk and Ingvar Kärnefelt, as Caloplaca eos. The type specimen was collected from rhyolite outcrops in New South Wales. Ulf Arup and colleagues transferred the taxon to the newly circumscribed genus Sirenophila in 2013, following a molecular phylogenetics-based restructuring of the Teloschistaceae.
Polycauliona candelaria is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It was one of the first lichens formally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 work Species Plantarum. Since then, the taxon has acquired a long and extensive synonymy. It was finally transferred to the genus Polycauliona by Ulf Arup and colleagues in 2013, as part of a molecular phylogenetics-based restructuring of the family Teloschistaceae. In North America, one vernacular name is shrubby sunburst lichen.
Calogaya decipiens is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It was first scientifically described in 1867 by German lichenologist Ferdinand Christian Gustav Arnold, as a member of the genus Physcia. Ulf Arup and colleagues transferred the taxon to the genus Flavoplaca in 2013, following a molecular phylogenetics-based restructuring of the family Teloschistaceae.
Flavoplaca arcis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose to squamulose (scaley) lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Although widely distributed in Northern, Central, and Western Europe, it is not commmonly encountered.
Dufourea ligulata is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. The German lichenologist Gustav Wilhelm Körber first formally described the species in 1862, as a member of the genus Physcia. Patrik Frödén, Ulf Arup, and Ulrik Søchting transferred it to the genus Dufourea in 2013 as part of a molecular phylogenetics-based restructuring of the family Teloschistaceae.
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.
Flavoplaca maritima is a species of crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in costal areas of Northern, Western, and Southern Europe. It mostly occurs on rocks, but has also been recorded growing on wood.
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.
