Pyrenula rubrostigma

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Pyrenula rubrostigma
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Eurotiomycetes
Order: Pyrenulales
Family: Pyrenulaceae
Genus: Pyrenula
Species:
P. rubrostigma
Binomial name
Pyrenula rubrostigma
Aptroot & M.Cáceres (2013)
Pyrenula rubrostigma
Holotype: Cuniã Ecological Station, Brazil

Pyrenula rubrostigma is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Pyrenulaceae. [1] The species is readily identified by its distinctive bright red apical opening on the fruiting bodies, caused by an anthraquinone pigment that turns purple when treated with potassium hydroxide solution. It forms a thin olive-brown crust on smooth bark in lowland rainforests and is widely distributed across several Brazilian states.

Contents

Taxonomy

This species was described as new by André Aptroot and Marcela Cáceres in 2013. The holotype was gathered from the Cuniã Ecological Station in Rondônia, Brazil, (km 760 on federal highway BR-319 north of Porto Velho), from tree bark in lowland primary rainforest. [2]

Description

This species forms a thin, olive‑brown crust with a smooth surface and is outlined by a narrow black line. Its fruiting bodies (perithecia) are conical and somewhat flattened, 0.6–1.2 mm in diameter, and occur singly. The apical opening is bright red because of an anthraquinone pigment that gives a purple reaction with potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution. The hamathecium contains numerous tiny colorless oil globules. Each ascus bears eight ascospores arranged in two irregular rows. The spores have three cross‑walls (septa) and measure 15–18  μm long and 6–7 μm wide. Their internal cavities are rounded to angular and often slightly wider than long; a thickened inner wall occurs at the tips, and distinct dark cross‑lines sometimes separate the chambers. Asexual reproductive bodies are absent in P. rubrostigma. [2]

Habitat and distribution

Pyrenula rubrostigma is corticolous and grows on smooth bark. [2] It is widely distributed in Brazil, having been recorded from the states of Rondônia, Pará, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, and Mato Grosso do Sul. [3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Pyrenula rubrostigma Aptroot & M. Cáceres". Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 2 December 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 [190]. doi:10.1017/S0024282912000734.
  3. ↑ Aptroot, André; da Silva Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia; dos Santos, Lidiane Alves; Benatti, Michel N.; Canêz, Luciana; Forno, Manuela Dal; Feuerstein, Shirley C.; Vidigal Fraga Junior, Carlos Augusto; Gerlach, Alice C. L.; Gumboski, Emerson Luiz; Jungbluth, Patrícia; Käffer, Márcia I.; Kalb, Klaus; Koch, Natália M.; Lücking, Robert; Torres, Jean-Marc; Spielmann, Adriano A. (2025). "The Brazilian lichen checklist: 4,828 accepted taxa constitute a country-level world record". The Bryologist. 128 (2): 96–423 [290]. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-128.2.96.
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