| Ochrolechia insularis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Pertusariales |
| Family: | Ochrolechiaceae |
| Genus: | Ochrolechia |
| Species: | O. insularis |
| Binomial name | |
| Ochrolechia insularis | |
Ochrolechia insularis is a rare species of crustose lichen in the family Ochrolechiaceae. [1] Found only on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, it forms an intricate crust on granite rocks near the sea, providing a habitat for a diverse range of species.
Ochrolechia insularis, formally described by Gintaras Kantvilas and John Elix, is a seemingly rare species of lichen with no known apothecia . The species was first discovered on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, at Cape Willoughby, in September 2009. The specific epithet insularis refers to the species' habitat on Kangaroo Island, which is located off the southern coast of mainland Australia. [2]
The Ochrolechia insularis lichen forms an irregular crust, varying in thickness from 0.3 to 4.5 mm, with a smooth, glossy, and white upper surface. Its appearance is characterised by intense papillae , nodules, or plicae. Its cortex , comprising irregularly orientated, branched and anastomosing, short-celled hyphae, is 15–30 μm thick. The photobiont cells, concentrated in a subcortical layer , are spherical, with diameters ranging from 6 to 15 μm. [2]
The lichen's secondary chemistry includes gyrophoric acid, lecanoric acid, and 2'-O-methyllecanoric acid, with reactions including K–, KC+ red, C+ red, P–, and UV– for both cortex and medulla. Ochrolechia insularis is morphologically similar to O. tartarea , a saxicolous (rock-dwelling) species, but differs in its smooth, glossy upper surface and lack of a prothallus. [2]
Ochrolechia insularis is known to occur only at the type locality on Kangaroo Island, [3] where it grows on large, sunny, windswept granite boulders overlooking the sea, but well above the normal level of sea spray. The lichen forms part of the typical community that dominates coastal granite rocks in Southern Australia, which includes species of Rinodina , Tylothallia , Xanthoria , Buellia , Caloplaca , and Xanthoparmelia . [2]
Despite searches in similar habitats both near the type locality and further afield, such as on Flinders Island in Bass Strait, no additional occurrences of Ochrolechia insularis have been found, suggesting that this species is extremely rare and localised. [2]
Ochrolechia insularis is a species of high conservation value due to its extremely uncommon and localised nature. The primary site where it grows is heavily degraded by the impact of sheep grazing and other disturbances, raising concerns about the future of this lichen. [2]
Ochrolechia is a genus of crustose lichens in the family Ochrolechiaceae.
Acarospora is a genus of mostly lichen-forming fungi in the family Acarosporaceae. Most species in the genus are crustose lichens that grow on rocks in open and arid places all over the world. They may look like a cobblestone road or cracked up old paint, and are commonly called cobblestone lichens or cracked lichens. They usually grow on rock, but some grow on soil (terricolous) or on other lichens. Some species in the genus are fungi that live as parasites on other lichens. Acarospora is a widely distributed genus, with about 128 species according to a 2008 estimate.
Phlyctis psoromica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Phlyctidaceae. Native to New South Wales, Australia, it was described as new to science in 2011. This lichen is characterised by its whitish to pale blue-grey crustose thallus and distinctive secondary chemistry.
Lecanora xanthoplumosella is a species of crustose lichen in the family Lecanoraceae. Known from Australia, it was described as new to science in 2011.
Niebla disrupta is a fruticose lichen that grows on rocks along the foggy Pacific Coast of California, from Marin County to San Luis Obispo County, in the Channel Islands, and on Guadalupe Island in Baja California. The epithet, disrupta was given by William Nylander possibly in reference to the terminal vine-like branchlets exhibiting a disruption or slight change in the direction of growth where apothecia develop, or possibly to the branchlets that appear to break off.
Austroparmelina is a genus of foliose lichens in the large family Parmeliaceae. It contains species formerly placed in the genera Parmelina and Canoparmelia. All species of Austroparmelina have an Australasian-South African distribution.
Amandinea devilliersiana is a species of crustose lichen in the family Caliciaceae, and found in South Australia. It was first described in 2013 by Australian lichenologists Jack Elix and Gintaras Kantvilas from a specimen collected on a granite boulder near the seashore in South Australia. The species epithet, devilliersiana, honours Brigitte de Villiers. Specimens used for the description came from both Tasmania and South Australia.
Punctelia transtasmanica is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Australasia.
Amandinea decedens is a crustose lichen in the family Caliciaceae, first described as Lecidea decedens by Finnish botanist William Nylander in 1869. It was assigned (invalidly) the name, Amandinea decedens, in 2002 by Juliane Blaha and Helmut Mayrhofer. The name was validly published in 2016 by Blaha, Mayrhofer and Jack Elix
Trapelia thieleana is a lichenised fungus in the family, Trapeliaceae. It was first described in 2014 by the mycologists, Gintaras Kantvilas, Steven Leavitt, John Elix and Thorsten Lumbsch.
Trapelia coarctata is a lichenised fungus in the family, Trapeliaceae.
Hertelidea wankaensis is a species of crustose lichen in the family Stereocaulaceae. It is found in northeastern Australia, where it grows on dead wood.
Punctelia pseudocoralloidea is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Australia, where it grows on bark and on wood.
Menegazzia tarkinea is a rare species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It occurs in North West Tasmania (Australia).
Ochrolechia africana, commonly known as the frosty saucer lichen, is a species of crustose and corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Ochrolechiaceae. It is a widely distributed species, found in tropical and subtropical areas of southern Africa, Asia, Australia, North America, and South America. The lichen is characterized by the presence of a white "frosty" or powdery apothecia.
Ramboldia blastidiata is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) and crustose lichen in the family Lecanoraceae. Found in Australia, it was formally described as a new species in 2007 by lichenologists Gintaras Kantvilas and John Elix. The type specimen was collected by the first author from the western slopes of Strzelecki Peaks on Flinders Island (Tasmania) at an altitude of 150 m (490 ft); here, in dry sclerophyll forest, it was found growing on a granite boulder. The lichen forms pale grey-green, olive-green to dull olive-brown crust-like patches up to 30 cm (12 in) wide. The authors suggest that it is widespread in temperate Australia and Tasmania, but not commonly collected. Others saxicolous lichens that it usually grows with include Ramboldia petraeoides, Lecanora farinacea, Xanthoparmelia mougeotina, and species from the genera Buellia and Rhizocarpon. The specific epithet blastidiata refers to the presence of blastidia, which are vegetative propagules that contain mycobiont and photobiont and are produced by yeast-like budding.
Xanthoparmelia canobolasensis is a lichen which belongs to the Xanthoparmelia genus. It is found in the Australian states of New South Wales and Tasmania. Although not currently endangered it appears to fulfill the criteria under the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995.
Coenogonium atherospermatis is a species of lichen in the family Coenogoniaceae. Found in Tasmania, it was formally described as a new species in 2018 by lichenologists Gintaras Kantvilas, Eimy Rivas Plata, and Robert Lücking. The type specimen was collected by the first author near Little Fisher River at an altitude of 820 m (2,690 ft), where it was found in a cool temperate rainforest growing on Atherosperma moschatum. It is locally abundant at this location, where it usually occurs at elevations of more than about 500 m (1,600 ft). The species epithet refers to the genus of the preferred host tree. Within Tasmanian rainforest vegetation, Atherosperma is known for harbouring "a distinctive suite of lichens", including C. atherospermatis.
Coenogonium australiense is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Coenogoniaceae. Found in Australia, it was formally described as a new species in 2018 by lichenologists Gintaras Kantvilas and Robert Lücking. The type specimen was collected by the first author near Little Fisher River (Tasmania) at an altitude of 880 m (2,890 ft), where it was found in a rainforest growing on Nothofagus cunninghamii. The species epithet australiense refers to its geographical distribution. In addition to Tasmania, the lichen has also been documented from New South Wales and Kangaroo Island. In the latter location it was found in remnant stands of coniferous woodland, where it was growing on the bark of old, fissured Callitris trunks.
Pertusaria cerroazulensis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Pertusariaceae. Found on the Galápagos Islands, it was formally described as a new species in 2015 by Frank Bungartz, Alan W. Archer, Alba Yánez-Ayabaca, and John Elix. The type specimen was collected from the Cerro Azul volcano at an altitude of 1,038 m (3,406 ft), where in a small, shaded woodland, it was growing on twigs of Psidium galapageium. The species epithet refers to the type locality.