| Harpidiaceae | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Subdivision: | Pezizomycotina |
| Family: | Harpidiaceae Vězda ex Hafellner (1984) |
| Genera | |
Harpidiaceae is a small family of lichen-forming fungi, containing two genera and five species. It is of uncertain classification in the Pezizomycotina.
The Harpidiaceae was first informally proposed by Antonín Vězda in 1974 to contain genus Harpidium , which he noted "is an extremely isolated genus, unrelated to the Lecanoraceae. It should be recognized as a separate monotypic family". [1] It was formally published in 1984 by Josef Hafellner, along with several other families characterised mainly by differences in the amyloid reactions of structures of their asci. [2] In 1988, Aino Henssen and colleagues published the results of a study of the thallus, apothecia, and pycnidia of the genera Harpidium and Euopsis, and concluded that they corresponded to the genus Pyrenopsis and other genera of the Lichinaceae (order Lichinales, class Lichinomycetes). With this, they justified including Harpidium and Euopsis in the Lichinaceae, and amended the circumscription of that family to include species with green-algal phycobionts. They concluded their paper stating: "Minor differences in the amyloid reaction of the ascus apex as viewed with the light microscope are, in our opinion, not a sound basis for the delimitation of families in lichenized ascomycetes as has been suggested by Hafellner (1984)". [3]
The classification of these genera was for some time a matter of contention. In an advanced research workshop on ascomycete systematics conducted in 1993, Hafellner opposed the placement of these genera in the Lichinaceae, stating "The Harpidiaceae clearly have features of a lecanoralean fungus which separate it from Lichinaceae. If this amount of variation in ascus structure is permitted, there is no reason not to include the Lichinaceae in the Lecanorales". [4] Christoph Scheidegger and Matthias Schultz proposed to reinstate the Harpidiaceae in a 2004 publication, based on preliminary DNA sequence data that suggested its phylogenetic distinctiveness. [5] Several later authors still did not accept the family, continuing to include the genera Harpidium and Euopsis in the Lichinaceae. [6] [7] [8]
In a corrected and amended version of the "2016 classification of lichenized fungi in the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota", the Harpidiaceae was added as Pezizomycotina incertae sedis . To support this decision, the authors mentioned two nuSSU sequences for Harpidium and Euopsis, available on Genbank, but, at the time of publication, without a published phylogeny. In their own (unpublished) analysis, the genera were shown to be closely related and "form a clade apparently not nested within Lichinomycetes or any other known class in the Ascomycota". [9] This classification, with a distinct Harpidiaceae, has been maintained in subsequent published revisions of fungal classification in 2020 and 2021. [10] [11]
Harpidiaceae lichens have a crustose thallus form that grows on non-calcareous rocks. It is homoiomerous, meaning that the algae are uniformly distributed throughout the thallus. The apothecia are sunken, and bordered by the thallus, with a barely developed proper exciple (a margin around the apothecia, lacking algae). The asci have an amyloid tholus (a thickened apical region). Ascospores number eight per ascus, and they are colourless, thin walled, and crescent shaped. [1]
The Cladoniaceae are a family of lichenized fungi in the order Lecanorales. It is one of the largest families of lichen-forming fungi, with about 560 species distributed amongst 17 genera. The reindeer moss and cup lichens (Cladonia) belong to this family. The latter genus, which comprises about 500 species, forms a major part of the diet of large mammals in taiga and tundra ecosystems. Many Cladoniaceae lichens grow on soil, but other can use decaying wood, tree trunks, and, in a few instances, rocks as their substrate. They grow in places with high humidity, and cannot tolerate aridity.
Scutula is a genus of lichenicolous fungi in the family Ramalinaceae.
The Arthoniales is the second largest order of mainly crustose lichens, but fruticose lichens are present as well. The order contains around 1500 species, while the largest order with lichenized fungi, the Lecanorales, contains more than 14000 species.
Scoliciosporaceae is a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Lecanorales. It contains two genera, the monotypic Umushamyces, and the type genus Scoliciosporum. The family was circumscribed by lichenologist Josef Hafellner in 1984.
Lichinales is the sole order of ascomycete fungi in the class Lichinomycetes. It contains three families: Gloeoheppiaceae, Lichinaceae, and Peltulaceae. Most species are lichenized. Lichinales was proposed in 1986 by German lichenologists Aino Henssen and Burkhard Büdel. The class Lichinomycetes was created by Valérie Reeb, François Lutzoni and Claude Roux in 2004.
The Lichinaceae are a family of ascomycete fungi. Most species are lichenized with cyanobacteria, and have a distribution largely in temperate regions.
The Baeomycetales are an order of mostly lichen-forming fungi in the subclass Ostropomycetidae, in the class Lecanoromycetes. It contains 8 families, 33 genera and about 170 species. As a result of molecular phylogenetics research published in the late 2010s, several orders were folded into the Baeomycetales, resulting in a substantial increase in the number of taxa.
Psilolechia is a genus of four species of crustose lichens. It is the only member of Psilolechiaceae, a family that was created in 2014 to contain this genus.
Zahlbrucknerella is a genus of filamentous, rock-dwelling lichens in the family Lichinaceae.
Phacopsis is a genus of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungi. They are parasites of members of the large lichen family Parmeliaceae, of which they are also a member. Originally proposed by Edmond Tulasne in 1852 to contain 3 species, Phacopsis now contains 10 species, although historically, 33 taxa have been described in the genus. Many of the species are poorly known, some of them having been documented only from the type specimen.
Eiglera is a genus of crustose lichens belonging to the family Eigleraceae. Eiglera species are found in Europe and Northern America.
Calycidium is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Sphaerophoraceae. It has two species. It is one of the few lichen genera containing foliose (leafy) species that produce a mazaedium – a powdery mass of spores. Both species occur in Australasia and South America, where they grow on tree bark or on mosses.
Roccellinastrum is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Pilocarpaceae. It has seven species.
Sporastatiaceae is a small family of crustose lichens in the order Rhizocarpales. It contains two genera, Sporastatia and Toensbergia, with a total of five species. Sporastatiaceae was circumscribed in 2013 by Mika Bendiksby and Ernst Timdal.
Rhizocarpales are an order of lichen-forming fungi in the subclass Lecanoromycetidae of the class Lecanoromycetes. It has two families, Rhizocarpaceae and Sporastatiaceae, which contain mostly crustose lichens.
Apatoplaca is a fungal genus in the family Teloschistaceae. It is monotypic, containing a single species, the rare crustose lichen Apatoplaca oblongula, found in the United States.
Sarrameanaceae is a family of lichen-forming fungi in the monotypic order Sarrameanales. It contains two genera, Loxospora, and Sarrameana, the type genus. The family was circumscribed by Josef Hafellner in 1984. The order Sarrameanales was proposed by Brendan Hodkinson and James Lendemer in 2011, as they had noted that previously published large-scale molecular phylogenetic studies had shown that the group of species contained in the family Sarrameanaceae were distinct and separate from the clade containing all of the other orders of the Ostropomycetidae. However, the name Sarrameanales was not validly published according to the rules of botanical nomenclature, because it was not accompanied by a suitable description. Despite this, the order continues to be used in lichenological literature.
Cameronia is a genus of crustose lichens in the monotypic family Cameroniaceae. It has two species. Both the genus and its two species were described as new to science in 2011 by Australian lichenologist Gintaras Kantvilas. Characteristics of the genus include its chlorococcalean photobiont partner, and perithecioid ascomata that are deeply immersed in the substrate. Microscopic features of Cameronia include the four-spored asci with an intensely hemiamyloid outer wall and non-amyloid, well-developed tholus, and hyaline, muriform ascospores. Both species are endemic to the Tasmanian Highlands.
Xenus lithophylli is a species of lichenized ascomycete fungus discovered in 1992, composing the entire monotypic genus Xenus. It is found parasiting the calcified algae Lithophyllum, and lives attached to corals in Belize, in the Caribbean.
Helocarpaceae is a family of lichen-forming fungi in the subclass Lecanoromycetidae. The family is monotypic, and contains the single genus Helocarpon.