| 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]
Gallaicolichen is a fungal genus that contains the single species Gallaicolichen pacificus, a foliicolous (leaf-dwelling) lichen. Originally discovered in Hawaii in 2007, G. pacificus has since been found in various locations across the Pacific, including Australia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, the Philippines, and Japan. The lichen forms small, pale greenish-yellow to yellowish-grey patches on leaves, typically in mid-altitude forests and along forest edges. G. pacificus is notable for its unique reproductive structures called peltidiangia, which produce disc-shaped propagules (peltidia) for asexual reproduction. Initially, its taxonomic classification was uncertain, but recent discoveries of specimens with sexual reproductive structures have enabled scientists to confidently place it within the family Porinaceae.
Sphaerocarpos texanus, the Texas balloonwort, is a species of liverwort in the Sphaerocarpaceae family, found in the Americas, northern Africa and Europe.
Diploicia canescens is a widespread species of lichen-forming fungus in the family Caliciaceae. It is found throughout much of the world, occurring on every continent except Antarctica. It is a crustose lichen with distinctive lobed margins that grows in rosettes up to 6 cm (2.4 in) across, appearing white to pale gray with white-pruinose marginal lobes. The species contains various biologically active compounds including depsidones, depsides, and phthalides. It typically grows on rocks, old walls, and tree trunks, particularly favoring nutrient-enriched areas such as birds' perching stones, though it is sensitive to sulfur dioxide pollution. Two subspecies are recognized: D. c. canescens and D. c. australasica, which differ in their chemical composition.
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. See Distribution information below. 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.
Phaeoceros carolinianus is a species of hornwort—a group of simple, non-vascular plants—that is found worldwide in damp, shaded areas. It forms flat, dark green, rosette-shaped patches measuring 10–20 mm in diameter on bare soil and rock surfaces. The plant is characterised by its horn-like spore capsules, which grow 40–60 mm tall, and for producing both male and female reproductive structures on the same plant. These features, along with its unique spore structure, distinguish it from closely related species like P. laevis.
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.
Buellia eldridgei is a rare species of terricolous (ground-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Caliciaceae, known to occur only in Queensland, Australia.
Caloplaca lecapustulata is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in Brazil, it was described as a new species in 2016.
Pyrenula fusoluminata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Pyrenulaceae, described as a new species in 2002. Found in the forests of Minas Gerais, Brazil, this species is distinguished by its unique spindle-shaped ascospores, which are more than four times as long than they are wide.
Nebularia is a small genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Pannariaceae. It comprises two species, both of which are found in the Andes.