Melanolecia

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Melanolecia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Lecideales
Family: Lecideaceae
Genus: Melanolecia
Hertel (1981)
Species:
M. transitoria
Binomial name
Melanolecia transitoria
(Arnold) Hertel (1981)
Synonyms [1]
  • Lecidea transitoriaArnold (1870)
  • Tremolecia transitoria(Arnold) Hertel (1977)

Melanolecia is a fungal genus in the family Lecideaceae. It contains the single species Melanolecia transitoria, a saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen.

Contents

Taxonomy

The genus was circumscribed by the German lichenologist Hannes Hertel in 1981 to contain calcicolous (i.e., thriving on lime-rich substrates ) species of the Lecidea jurana-group that were excluded from the genus Tremolecia . [2]

The genus is treated as monospecific by the taxonomic authority Index Fungorum, with the type species, Melanolecia transitoria, the only species associated with the genus in its Catalogue of Life listing. [3] However, at six species names were been proposed by Hertel; the species with amyloid ascus tips have since been moved into the genus Farnoldia . [4]

Melanolecia is now placed in the family Lecideaceae, [5] a classification that was suggested from early molecular phylogenetics analysis. [6] It was historically tentatively placed in the Hymeneliaceae. [7] [8]

Former species

Hertel transferred species with amyloid tubelike structures into the new genus Farnoldia in 1983; this includes most of the species originally proposed, save for the type: [9]

Habitat and distribution

Melanolecia transitoria is a circumpolar lichen that grows in arctic-alpine environments. It typically grows on sloped to overhanging surfaces of calcareous rocks found above the treeline. In the Alps, this species is primarily found in the nival belt, the highest zone of alpine vegetation, where it is likely restricted. [9] [4]

Related Research Articles

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The Lecanoraceae are a family of lichenized fungi in the order Lecanorales. Species of this family have a widespread distribution.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baeomycetales</span> Order of fungi

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<i>Lopadium</i> (lichen) Genus of lichens

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<i>Lecidella</i> Genus of lichen-forming fungi

Lecidella is a genus of crustose lichens in the family Lecanoraceae.

<i>Absconditella</i> Genus of lichen-forming fungi

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The Lecideaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Lecideales. It contains about 30 genera and roughly 250 species. A major distinguishing characteristic of the family is the lecanoroid form of the fruiting bodies: typically circular, dark, and without a thalline margin. Most species in the family are lichenised with green algae, although a few species, scattered amongst several genera, are lichenicolous—they live on other lichens. Lecideaceae lichens tend to grow on rocks, wood, and soil. Several Lecideaceae species accelerate the weathering of rock surfaces, a process known as pedogenesis, by extending their hyphae into cracks and expelling rock flakes. This contributes to significantly faster weathering rates in certain environments, impacts various materials from natural rocks to man-made Sekishu roof tiles, and involves key biomolecules identified for survival and biodeterioration, including compounds to withstand intense ultraviolet radiation.

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Porpidia is a genus of crustose lichens in the family Lecideaceae. Porpidia species primarily inhabit siliceous rocks, pebbles, and stonework, with rare occurrences on bark, wood, and compacted soil. The thallus, or body of the lichen, varies in appearance from thick and crusty to barely visible. It may form a continuous layer or develop cracks resulting in a segmented, areolate structure. The colour of the thallus ranges from grey and white to orange.

<i>Fuscidea</i> Genus of lichen

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<i>Hypocenomyce</i> Genus of lichens

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<i>Schaereria</i> Genus of lichen

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<i>Sporastatia</i> Genus of lichens

Sporastatia is a genus of crustose lichens in the family Sporastatiaceae. It has four species. Sporastatia lichens are long-lived species that grow on siliceous or weakly calcareous rocks in arctic and alpine locales.

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Strangospora is a genus of lichen-forming fungi. It is the only genus in the family Strangosporaceae, which itself is of uncertain taxonomic placement in the Ascomycota. It contains 10 species.

<i>Stenhammarella</i> Single-species lichen genus

Stenhammarella is a fungal genus that contains a single species, Stenhammarella turgida, a saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen. This lichen grows on limestone rocks in alpine environments and is found in Europe and China. It was first described in 1810 by the Swedish lichenologist Erik Acharius, the "father of lichenology". The lichen has a chalky, greyish body with distinctive reproductive structures (apothecia) that change appearance as the organism matures. Initially classified under various names and genera, it was given its own genus, Stenhammarella, in 1967. Modern genetic studies have placed it in the Lecideaceae family of fungi, revealing its close relationship to lichens in the genus Porpidia.

Xanthopsorella is a fungal genus in the family Catillariaceae. It comprises the single species Xanthopsorella texana, a saxicolous (rock-dwelling), squamulose lichen found in the Southern United States and Mexico.

References

  1. "Synonymy. Current Name: Melanolecia transitoria (Arnold) Hertel, in Poelt & Vězda, Biblthca Lichenol. 16: 365 (1981)". Species Fungorum . Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  2. Poelt, J.; Vězda, A. (1981). Bestimmungsschlüssel europäischer Flechten. Ergänzungsheft II[Identification key to European lichens. Supplement II]. Bibliotheca Lichenologica (in German). Vol. 16. Vaduz: J. Cramer. p. 364. ISBN   978-3-7682-1162-8.
  3. "Melanolecia". Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  4. 1 2 Nimis, Pier Luigi (2016). The Lichens of Italy. A Second Annotated Catalogue. Trieste: Edizioni Università di Trieste. p. 298. ISBN   978-88-8303-755-9.
  5. Wijayawardene, N.N.; Hyde, K.D.; Dai, D.Q.; Sánchez-García, M.; Goto, B.T.; Saxena, R.K.; et al. (2022). "Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa – 2021". Mycosphere. 13 (1): 53–453 [153]. doi:10.5943/mycosphere/13/1/2. hdl: 1854/LU-8754813 .
  6. Buschbom, Jutta; Mueller, Gregory (2004). "Resolving evolutionary relationships in the lichen-forming genus Porpidia and related allies (Porpidiaceae, Ascomycota)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 32 (1): 66–82. Bibcode:2004MolPE..32...66B. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.11.012. PMID   15186798.
  7. Kirk, P.M.; Cannon, P.F.; David, J.C.; Stalpers, J.A., eds. (2001). Dictionary of the Fungi (9th ed.). Wallingford, Oxford: CABI Bioscience. p. 312. ISBN   978-0-85199-377-5.
  8. Lumbsch, H. Thorsten; Huhndorf, Sabine M. (2010). "Myconet Volume 14. Part One. Outline of Ascomycota—2009. Part Two. Notes on Ascomycete Systematics. Nos. 4751–5113". Fieldiana Life and Earth Sciences. 1: 1–64 [18]. doi:10.3158/1557.1.
  9. 1 2 Hertel, H. (1983). "Über einige aus Lecidea und Melanolecia (Ascomycetes lichenisati) auszuschließende Arten" (PDF). Mitteilungen der Botanischen Staatssammlung München (in German). 19: 441–447.