| Spinomyces | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Graphidales |
| Family: | Gomphillaceae |
| Genus: | Spinomyces Bat. & Peres ex Xavier-Leite, M.Cáceres & Lücking (2023) |
| Type species | |
| Spinomyces albostrigosus (R.Sant.) Xavier-Leite, Cáceres & Lücking (2023) | |
| Species | |
S. aggregatus Contents | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Spinomyces is a genus of fungi in the family Gomphillaceae. [2] It has six species of leaf-dwelling lichens. [3]
The genus name Spinomyces has a complex taxonomic history. In 1961, [4] the mycologists Augusto Chaves Batista and Generosa Emília Pontual Peres first proposed the name Spinomyces, using a specimen they called S. genipae. However, when scientists later examined this original specimen, they discovered it was actually a mixture of two different lichens – one that appeared to be Tricharia albostrigosa (without reproductive structures) and another species of Echinoplaca . Because Batista and Peres published the name without providing a formal scientific description as required by naming rules, Spinomyces was not considered a valid genus name at that time. [5]
In 2023, when the lichenologists Amanda Xavier-Leite, Marcela Cáceres, and Robert Lücking needed a name for a newly recognised group of lichens centred around what was then called Aderkomyces albostrigosus, they decided to resurrect and formally validate the name Spinomyces. [5] Rather than basing it on the mixed-up Echinoplaca specimen as had been previously suggested by some researchers in 1998, [6] they chose to establish the genus with Tricharia albostrigosa (now Spinomyces albostrigosus) as its type species. [5]
These lichens form a continuous, smooth layer on leaf surfaces, characterised by distinctive white bristles. Their reproductive structures (apothecia) sit directly on the surface and typically range in colour from yellowish to reddish-brown. Under the microscope, these structures usually produce single spores that are divided into multiple compartments both lengthwise and crosswise ( muriform ). [5]
A characteristic feature of the genus is its specialised reproductive structures ( hyphophores ), which are white bristles that often widen at their tips. These structures produce chains of spindle-shaped cells ( diahyphae ) at their tips. [5]