| Malmidea allobakeri | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Malmideaceae |
| Genus: | Malmidea |
| Species: | M. allobakeri |
| Binomial name | |
| Malmidea allobakeri Kalb & M.Cáceres (2021) | |
 | |
| Holotype site: Centro de Pesquisa do Cacao, Venezuela [1] | |
Malmidea allobakeri is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. [2] It is found in Venezuela.
The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2021 by the lichenologists Klaus Kalb and Marcela Cáceres. The type specimen was collected by the second author from the Centro de Pesquisa do Cacao (Itabuna) in Atlantic Forest. The species epithet alludes to its similarity of Malmidea bakeri . [1]
Malmidea allobakeri is a crustose lichen with a continuous thallus that is 40–70 µm thick. The surface of the thallus is verrucose , with verrucae measuring 0.075–0.1 mm in height and 0.07–0.1 mm in width. The thallus has a dull appearance, showing shades of greenish-grey to brownish, and is devoid of soralia and isidia (reproductive propagules). The medulla, both of the verrucae and the thallus, is white to faintly yellow and reacts to a solution of potassium hydroxide (i.e., the K spot test) with an orange to reddish colour. The lichen hosts a chlorococcoid (green algal) photobiont, whose cells measure 6–8 µm in diameter. [1]
The apothecia of Malmidea allobakeri are sessile and rounded, measuring 0.3–0.8 mm in diameter and 0.2–0.3 mm in height. The apothecial discs are plane to slightly convex and range in colour from dark chocolate brown to blackish. The excipulum , of the granifera type, is initially entire but becomes granular as the lichen ages and may partly or entirely vanish. It is cream-coloured to greyish or black in colour. The excipulum is hyaline at the periphery and internally contains pockets of the medullary layer filled with greyish to ochraceous-yellow hydrophobic granules. These granules are opaque and only partially dissolve in potassium hydroxide solution, resulting in a K+ orange-yellowish to greenish lemon-yellow reaction. The subhymenium is approximately 25 µm high and light brown, while the centrally located hypothecium is 80–100 µm high, narrowing towards the margin, and dark brown with no reaction to K tests. The epihymenium of this species is indistinct, and the hymenium is hyaline, measuring 90–110 µm in height. The asci are sized 70–80 µm by 15–20 µm, containing 6 (occasionally up to 8) non-septate, halonate , ellipsoid ascospores per ascus, measuring 10–14 by 7–8 µm, with a halo of 1–1.5 µm. [1]
Chemically, Malmidea allobakeri is characterised by the presence of several unidentified xantholepinones, distinct from those found in Malmidea bakeri, and it lacks atranorin. [1]
Malmidea allobakeri has been recorded from several states of Brazil: Bahia, Sergipe, Pernambuco, and Alagoas. It has been found at elevations ranging up to 800 m (2,600 ft). [1]
Malmidea is a genus of crustose lichens and the type genus of the family Malmideaceae. It was established in 2011 to contain a phylogenetically distinct group of species formerly placed in the genus Malcolmiella. The crust-like thallus of Malmidea lichens has a surface that varies from smooth to rough, featuring textures such as verrucose (wart-like), granulose (grainy), or pustulate (pimpled). These textures are often formed by goniocysts, which are spherical clusters of green algal cells from the family Chlorococcaceae, encased in fungal hyphae. Malmidea comprises nearly 70 mostly tropical species that grow on bark, although a few grow on leaves.
Malmidea attenboroughii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is known to occur from a single location in the Amazon rainforest of Bolivia.
Pseudochapsa lueckingii is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is known only from a single collection in São Paulo, Brazil.
Topeliopsis acutispora is a species of crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in New South Wales and southern Queensland (Australia), where it grows on bryophytes.
Malmidea cineracea is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Nicaragua.
Lecanactis malmideoides is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Roccellaceae. First described in 2018, it is found in Brazil. Characteristics of the lichen include its pruinosediscs, thin and glossy black margins, and ascospore structure.
Rinodina maronisidiata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Physciaceae, first described in 2018. Found at high altitudes in the Venezuelan Andes, it is characterised by its unique isidia-covered thallus and specific ascospore morphology.
Caloplaca patagoniensis is a species of lignicolous (wood-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in Chile. It forms small thallus patches, with distinctive areoles that change from whitish or greyish-yellow to deep orange or brownish-orange, often covered by a bright orange blastidious mass. Its fruiting bodies (apothecia) are dark reddish-orange and initially immersed in the substrate, while its spores are ellipsoid to elongated, and the species contains parietin, turning purple when exposed to a potassium hydroxide solution.
Malmidea albomarginata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Venezuela.
Malmidea allopapillosa is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Venezuela.
Malmidea atlanticoides is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Brazil.
Malmidea hechicerae is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Venezuela.
Malmidea hernandeziana is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Venezuela. The distinctive features of this species include a thallus with coralloid-like outgrowths, light-coloured fruiting bodies (ascomata) with a specialised structural layer, relatively large spores that tend to have slightly thickened walls at their ends, and the absence of specific lichen products typically found in other species of the genus. This combination of characteristics sets Malmidea hernandeziana apart from other species in the genus Malmidea.
Malmidea isidiifera is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Brazil and Venezuela.
Malmidea leucopiperis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Brazil.
Malmidea rhodopisoides is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Brazil.
Malmidea subcinerea is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Venezuela. The lichen has a smooth, dull thallus varying in colour from grey to olive, with a white internal medulla. It has sessile, rounded apothecia with light beige to greyish-brown discs.
Malmidea volcaniana is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Venezuela. A major characteristic of the species is the coralloid (coral-shaped) clumps of isidia-like outgrowths on the thallus surface.
Allographa hypostictica is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae, Found in Brazil, it was described as a new species in 2018. Its thallus contains hypostictic acid and its distinctive apothecia and ascospores.
Byssoloma xanthonicum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Pilocarpaceae. It is found in New Caledonia.