| Gomphillus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Gomphillus americanus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Graphidales |
| Family: | Gomphillaceae |
| Genus: | Gomphillus Nyl. (1855) |
| Type species | |
| Gomphillus calycioides | |
| Species | |
G. americanus Contents | |
Gomphillus is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Gomphillaceae. [1]
The genus was circumscribed by the Finnish lichenologist William Nylander in 1854, with G. calycioides assigned as the type species. [2] The genus name originates from the Latin term gomphus, which itself derives from the Greek γόμφος, meaning 'bolt, nail, or peg'. It is combined with the diminutive suffix -illus. [3]
Gomphillus lichens are characterised by their crustose thallus, which is very thin, semi-transparent, and sub-gelatinous when wet. The thallus can either spread irregularly across the substrate ( effuse ) or have well-defined edges. The primary photosynthetic partner ( photobiont ) in Gomphillus species is a chlorococcoid green alga, meaning the algal cells are spherical or nearly so. [4]
The reproductive structures (ascomata) are apothecia, which are fruiting bodies that can appear irregularly spherical ( globose ) or often resemble a top shape. These structures are brown-black on the upper surface but gradually transition to pale or colourless at the lower portion. The apothecia lack a thalline margin (a rim derived from the lichen's body) but have a well-developed true exciple , a cup-like structure that extends below into a stalk-like extension. The exciple is pale brown at the upper edge and pale within, consisting of thin, interconnected hyphae embedded in a gelatinous matrix; it is not carbonised (hardened into a black, coal-like consistency). The uppermost layer of the apothecium ( epithecium ) is reddish-brown and smooth, lacking granules . [4]
The internal structure of the apothecia ( hamathecium ) consists of numerous thin, interconnected filaments called paraphyses, each less than 1 μm wide, with tips that are not swollen. The asci, or spore-producing sacs, contain eight ascospores and are long and narrow—up to 50 times longer than they are wide. These asci are fissitunicate , meaning they have a specialised double-wall structure that aids in spore release, and they do not react to iodine staining (K/I–). The ascospores themselves are thread-like, extremely elongated, multi-septate (divided into many compartments), and colourless. [4]
Gomphillus species also produce conidiomata, small structures for asexual reproduction, which appear as black on the upper surface and pale below. These structures release conidia, which are tiny, ellipsoidal cells that can disperse and form new colonies. In some related species outside the genus (extralimital species), specialised spore-producing structures called hyphophores are present. No lichen-specific secondary metabolites have been detected in Gomphillus species using thin-layer chromatography, a common method for identifying lichen substances. [4]
The genus is found in the westernmost parts of Europe, ranging from Portugal to Norway, including the British Isles and Macaronesia. It is also present in eastern North America, tropical regions of the Americas, and Hawaii. It almost exclusively grows on bryophytes, including mosses, liverworts, and sometimes, other lichens. [3] [4]
As of December 2024 [update] , Species Fungorum (in the Catalogue of Life) accepts three species of Gomphillus, [5] although more than these have been assigned to the genus.
The Gomphillaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Graphidales. Species in this family are found mostly in tropical regions. The family underwent a major molecular phylogenetics-led reorganisation in 2023, in which 17 genera were recognised and formally established as new or reinstated.
Phaeographis is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has an estimated 180 species.
Schadonia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi. Established by German lichenologist Gustav Wilhelm Körber in 1859, this genus of crustose lichens is characterised by its black, sessile apothecia, muriform ascospores, and growth on mosses, plant debris, and rocks in montane habitats. While traditionally placed in the family Ramalinaceae, recent studies have suggested its classification may be uncertain within the order Lecanorales, with some researchers proposing its placement in the Pilocarpaceae or the resurrection of the family Schadoniaceae. The genus currently comprises four recognised species.
Diploschistes is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. Commonly known as crater lichens, members of the genus are crustose lichens with a thick, cracked (areolate) body (thallus) with worldwide distribution. The fruiting part (apothecia) are immersed in the thick thallus so as to have the appearance of being small "craters". The widespread genus contains about 43 species.
Byssoloma is a genus of leaf-dwelling lichens in the family Pilocarpaceae.
Mazosia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Roccellaceae.
Arthotheliopsis is a genus of fungi in the family Gomphillaceae. It has 5 species. The genus was circumscribed by Finnish lichenologist Edvard August Vainio in 1896, with A. hymenocarpoides assigned as the type species.
Aderkomyces thailandicus is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Gomphillaceae. Found in the lower montane rainforests of Thailand, it was described as new to science in 2011.
Coenogonium is a genus of filamentous lichens in the monotypic family Coenogoniaceae. It has about 90 species. Most species are leaf-dwelling or grow on bark, although a few are known to grow on rocks under certain conditions, and some are restricted to growth on termite nests. The genus was circumscribed in 1820 by German naturalist Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg.
Schizotrema is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 2009 by Armin Mangold and H. Thorsten Lumbsch.
Sagiolechiaceae is a small family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Ostropales. It contains two genera, Rhexophiale, and Sagiolechia, the type genus.
Reichlingia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Arthoniaceae. It has seven species. The genus was originally circumscribed by Paul Diederich and Christoph Scheidegger in 1996, with Reichlingia leopoldii as the type, and at that time, only species. The fungus was at first thought to be a lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungus, but is now considered a lichenised hyphomycete.
Asterothyrium vezdae is a species of foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichen in the family Gomphillaceae. It is found in Bolivia, where it grows on the leaves of vascular plants in the Amazon rainforest. The lichen is distinguished from its closest relative, Asterothyrium octomerum, by the larger number of septa in its ascospores, and its and black apothecia.
Calenia bullatinoides is a foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichen species in the family Gomphillaceae. It was discovered in New South Wales, Australia, and has been observed in other locations including Costa Rica, Cocos Island, and Kenya. The thallus of this species forms dispersed or sometimes confluent patches that are slightly inflated due to a strong encrustation with calcium oxalate crystals. These patches are whitish to silvery grey, with a smooth to irregularly rough and wrinkled surface texture and a narrow, crystal-free, greenish margin.
Mangoldia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the subfamily Graphidoideae of the family Graphidaceae. It contains four species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichens.
Melanotopelia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has four species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens. This genus includes species characterised by dark pigmentation in their exciple, non-amyloid ascospores, and specific secondary metabolites.
Leptogidium is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Pannariaceae. It has six species.
Megaloblastenia is a genus of crustose lichen-forming fungi in the family Megalosporaceae, comprising three species. Proposed by Dutch lichenologist Harrie Sipman in 1983, the genus is characterised by its thick, ecorticate thallus ranging from pale whitish-grey to yellowish, and its disc-like fruiting bodies (apothecia) that can be biatorine or lecideine. Megaloblastenia lichens form a symbiotic relationship with Dictyochloropsis algae, produce hyaline, bicellular ascospores with polaribilocular structure, and contain chemical compounds such as zeorin, pannarin, or usnic acid. Found in Australasia and South America, these lichens typically grow as epiphytes on trees in moist forests within temperate to tropical oceanic climates.
Batistomyces is a small genus of fungi in the family Gomphillaceae. It has two species of leaf-dwelling (foliicolous) lichens. These microlichens form very thin layers on the surface of leaves, appearing to the naked eye as small, fuzzy dark patches due to their numerous short black bristles.
Sipmanidea is a small genus of fungi in the family Gomphillaceae. It comprises two species of leaf-dwelling lichens.