Pyrenula rubroinspersa

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Pyrenula rubroinspersa
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Eurotiomycetes
Order: Pyrenulales
Family: Pyrenulaceae
Genus: Pyrenula
Species:
P. rubroinspersa
Binomial name
Pyrenula rubroinspersa
Aptroot & Sipman (2013)
Pyrenula rubroinspersa
Holotype: Cerro Guaiquinima  [ es ], Venezuela

Pyrenula rubroinspersa is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Pyrenulaceae. [1] The species is characterized by red oil droplets within the spore-bearing tissue that turn green when treated with potassium hydroxide solution, a reaction caused by the presence of the anthraquinone compound isohypocrellin. It forms a relatively thick yellowish-gray crust on smooth bark and is known only from its type locality in Venezuela, where it grows in well-lit forests.

Contents

Taxonomy

This species was described as new by André Aptroot and Harrie Sipman in 2013. The holotype was collected on Cerro Guaiquinima  [ es ] near the northeast edge of the upper plateau (Bolívar, Venezuela); it grew on tree bark in a well-lit forest. The specific epithet alludes to the red inspersion in the hamathecium . [2] The only other Pyrenula species with a similar red inspersion is the Puerto Rican species Pyrenula biseptata , but that species does not contain isohypocrellin, and so does not react K+ (green). [3]

Description

This species has a rather thick, yellowish‑gray thallus that is smooth and lacks pseudocyphellae (minute pores for gas exchange). The perithecia are superficial and hemispherical, 0.5–0.8 mm in diameter, each with a black apical pore. The hamathecium is permeated by red oil droplets that turn green in potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution; this reaction is caused by the anthraquinone compound isohypocrellin. Each ascus contains eight ascospores arranged in a single row. The spores have three cross‑walls and measure 13–16  μm long and 6–8 μm wide. Their internal cavities ( lumina ) are rounded and wider than long, separated by short dark lines of spore wall material that do not extend to the outer wall. The tips bear a thickened inner layer. Asexual structures have not been seen to occur in this species. [2]

Habitat and distribution

Pyrenula rubroinspersa is corticolous, growing on smooth bark. As of its original publication, it had been recorded only from its original collection site. [2] No additional localities were reported in Aptroot's 2021 world key of Pyrenula . [4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Pyrenula rubroinspersa Aptroot & Sipman". Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Aptroot, André; Sipman, Harrie J.M.; Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia da Silva (2013). "Twenty-one new species of Pyrenula from South America, with a note on over-mature ascospores". The Lichenologist. 45 (2): 169–198 []. doi:10.1017/S0024282912000734.
  3. ↑ Aptroot, André; Sipman, Harrie J. M.; Mercado Diaz, Joel Alejandro; MendonçA, Cléverton de Oliveira; Feuerstein, Shirley Cunha; Cunha-Dias, Iane Paula Rego; Pereira, Thamires Almeida; Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia da Silva (2018). "Eight new species of Pyrenulaceae from the Neotropics, with a key to 3-septate Pyrgillus species". The Lichenologist. 50 (1): 77–87. doi:10.1017/S0024282917000573.
  4. ↑ Aptroot, André (2021). "World key to the species of Pyrenulaceae and Trypetheliaceae". Archive for Lichenology. 29: 1–91 [26].
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