| Sphaerocarpos muccilloi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Marchantiophyta |
| Class: | Marchantiopsida |
| Order: | Sphaerocarpales |
| Family: | Sphaerocarpaceae |
| Genus: | Sphaerocarpos |
| Species: | S. muccilloi |
| Binomial name | |
| Sphaerocarpos muccilloi E.Vianna | |
Sphaerocarpos muccilloi is a species of liverwort in the family Sphaerocarpaceae.
Sphaerocarpos muccilloi grows in pale green mats. The thallus tissue is around five cells thick towards the center of the plant, but becomes as thin as one cell towards the edges. Those cells towards the edges are square or rectangular in shape, and are 56–108 micrometers (µm) long by 30–50 µm wide. The involucre which protects the plant's inflorescence is aggregate and oval- or cylindrical-shaped. It has a length of 1–2 millimeters (mm) and the opening is 170–280 µm wide. [1]
S. muccilloi is a dioecious species, which means individual plants will have either male or female reproductive organs instead of both. The female plants grow roughly in a circular shape and are about 5–8 mm long. They are lobed, and the lobes grow upwards somewhat, with many rhizoids on their undersides. [1]
The male plants are more oval-shaped and also lobed. They are purple in color and usually have one fork. They are also smaller, growing only 1–3 mm long. The male sex organ, the antheridium, is globular and 80–112 µm in diameter. It is supported by three stalk cells. The spore capsule is large (0.8–1 mm) and is embedded in the thallus. It has short hairs (seta) and a bulbous foot. The spores are yellowish-brown and grow in tetrads which are 108–180 µm wide. The spores are around 60–90 µm wide and are areolate. [1]
Sphaerocarpos muccilloi is closely related to other species of Sphaerocarpos. However, it can be told apart from each through different morphological features. Its spores separate at maturity from another place on the plant than in S. donnellii and S. cristatus , and they are a different color from the bright yellow spores of S. stipitiatus. [2] The differences in spores are more minute when comparing to S. hians , S. michelii , S. texanus , and S. drewiae , but each of them have different sized spores and various patterns of meshes and ridges which make them unique. [3]
Sphaerocarpos muccilloi represents the Brazilian population of Sphaerocarpaceae, being the only species of the family found in the country. [4] It was first recognized as a distinct species by Eny Vianna in 1981, following the analysis of specimens collected from an earlier trip to Brazil in 1973. [1]
According to the Red List of Rio Grand do Sul, S. muccilloi is a Critically Endangered species which can be found only in a few localities within the Brazilian state. [4] These include the type locality of Porto Alegre and two locations surrounding it, São Leopoldo and Ivoti. However, because of the high levels of human habitation in these places and the time passed since the last observations of the species there, it is likely that S. muccilloi is no longer present in these locations. [5] In 2017, the species was recorded in the Paleobotanical Sites of Arenito Mata of Santana do Livramento. [5]
The species is most commonly found in areas of light shade on damp soil. [1] It has been recorded among petrified wood and hornworts of the genus Phaeoceros . [5]
Sphaerocarpos texanus, the Texas balloonwort, is a species of liverwort in the Sphaerocarpaceae family, found in the Americas, northern Africa and Europe.
Lactarius rupestris is a species of mushroom in the family Russulaceae. Described as a new species in 2010, it is known only from the semi-arid region in the National Park of Catimbau of Brazil. The mushroom is characterized by a stout fruit body with a smooth and sticky orange cap up to 7 cm (2.8 in) in diameter. The gills on the underside of the cap are closely spaced and frequently anastomosed. The stem is 35–45 mm (1.4–1.8 in) long by 18–21 mm (0.71–0.83 in) thick. The mushrooms exude a sparse cream-colored latex when cut or injured.
Acarospora flavisparsa is a species of lichen in the family Acarosporaceae. Found in Portugal and Spain, it was described as new to science in 2011. The lichen grows on acidic rock walls in inland areas.
Asterella californica is a complex thallic liverwort in the phylum Marchantiophyta. A. californica often grows as colonies of flat rosettes of light green, rigid thalli, with undersides dark wine-red to nearly black. The receptacles are rounded, with four lobes each bearing a single sporangium sheathed by a white tattered skirt. A. californica is dioecious with separate male plants often intermingled with female plants. This species is found throughout California from San Francisco southward to San Diego and Guadalupe Island. Asterella californica is the commonest species of the three species of Asterella occurring in California; the other two species are A. bolanderi and A. palmeri.
Punctelia purpurascens is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2007 by lichenologists Marcelo Marcelli and Luciana da Silva Canêz. The type specimen was collected in the municipality of Vicara in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. There it was found growing on a basaltic rock in an open field. The specific epithet purpurascens refers to the unusual K+ purple reaction of the medulla.
Punctelia constantimontium is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Its range includes South America, Africa, and Mexico, where it grows on bark and twigs.
Punctelia colombiana is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) and foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in South America.
Punctelia subpraesignis is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It occurs in Mexico, South America, and East Africa, where it grows on bark and on rocks. Major characteristics of the lichen that distinguish it from other Punctelia species include the C+ and KC+ rose spot tests of the medulla, ascospores that are smaller than 20 μm, and unciform (hooklike) conidia.
Punctelia graminicola is a species of foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It grows on rocks, and, less frequently, on bark in North America, South America, and East Africa. It has a blue-grey thallus measuring up to about 15 cm (6 in), covered with tiny pores called pseudocyphellae. Sometimes the lichen forms small lobes that project out from the surface. Fruiting bodies are uncommon in this species; if present, they resemble small cups with a brown internal disc measuring 3–10 mm (0.1–0.4 in) in diameter. A lookalike species, Punctelia hypoleucites, is not readily distinguishable from Punctelia graminicola by appearance or habitat alone; these species can only be reliably differentiated by examining the length of their conidia.
Acanthothecis kalbii is a species of script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It was described as a new species in 2009 by Manuela Dal-Forno and Sionara Eliasaro. The type specimen was collected from Pontal do Sul in Pontal do Paraná, Brazil. The specific epithet honours German lichenologist Klaus Kalb.
Neoprotoparmelia plurisporibadia is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where it grows on granite rocks in low, open mountainous areas.
Acanthothecis latispora is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2022 by Shirley Cunha Feuerstein and André da Silveira. The type specimen was collected by the first author from Turvo State Park. Here the lichen was growing on branches in open areas of the Atlantic Forest. It has a whitish to greenish thallus with a black prothallus. Its asci contain a single ascospore; the spores are densely muriform and measure 82–100 by 27–35 μm. The specific epithet refers to the wide spores. Acanthothecis latispora contains norstictic and stictic acids; these are lichen products that are detectable using thin-layer chromatography.
Canoparmelia consanguinea is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2009 by lichenologists Marcelo Marcelli, Luciana da Silva Canêz, and John Elix. The type specimen was collected from an open field in Fazenda da Estrela at an altitude of 920 m (3,020 ft), where it was growing on basaltic rock.
Gyalecta perithecioidea is a little-known species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Gyalectaceae. It is found in Brazil, where it grows on sheltered limestone in the Atlantic Forest.
Lempholemma polycarpum is a little-known species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) lichen in the family Lichinaceae. It was first described from Yemen and is characterised by its blackish thallus, abundant small apothecia, and cyanobacteria from the genus Nostoc as its photobiont. The lichen is found on inclined limestone boulders in sun-exposed habitats with open forest vegetation. It also occurs in Madagascar and in Aldabra.
Lecidea lygommella is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Lecideaceae. It spreads up to 7 cm wide with a thin thallus varying in colour from whitish and pale grey to rusty red-brown, featuring areolate surfaces with irregularly shaped areoles. Its fruiting bodies range from slightly embedded to sitting atop the thallus and black, flat to slightly convex apothecial discs. Unlike its lookalike Lecidea lygomma, L. lygommella does not produce any secondary chemicals. It is found in New South Wales and Victoria, Australia, where it grows on rocks in alpine areas.
Eilifdahlia sergeyana is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is endemic to Kangaroo Island in South Australia. The lichen thallus has an uneven and scaly texture, forming patches up to 40 mm wide in dull greenish-grey or brownish-grey. Its fruiting bodies (apothecia) are orange to yellow, with a biatorine structure, and range from 0.5 to 1 mm wide. These apothecia have a matte surface and a cup-shaped margin containing golden-yellow crystals. The paraphyses within are slender and branched, and the asci contain ellipsoid spores.
Caloplaca nothoholocarpa is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in Chile.
Buellia eldridgei is a rare species of terricolous (ground-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Caliciaceae, known to occur only in Queensland, Australia.
Caloplaca lecanorocarpa is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by the lichenologists André Aptroot and Marcela Cáceres. It is named for its overall appearance to lichens in the Lecanora subfusca species complex.