Stellarangia

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Stellarangia
Caloplaca namibensis-1369 - Flickr - Ragnhild & Neil Crawford.jpg
Stellarangia namibensis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Teloschistales
Family: Teloschistaceae
Genus: Stellarangia
Frödén, Arup & Søchting (2013)
Type species
Stellarangia elegantissima
(Nyl.) Frödén, Arup & Søchting (2013)
Species

S. elegantissima
S. namibensis
S. testudinea

Stellarangia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. [1] [2] It has three species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens. Species of Stellarangia are found in dry, desert areas in Namibia and South Africa.

Contents

Taxonomy

The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Patrik Frödén, Ulf Arup, and Ulrik Søchting, with S. elegantissima assigned as the type species. It is in the subfamily Teloschistoideae of the Teloschistaceae. The genus name means "yellow star". [3]

Description

Stellarangia is characterized by a crustose thallus structure, often accompanied by well-developed marginal lobes . An exception to this may be observed in S. testudinea where the lobes may sometimes be absent. These lichens have a complex cortex structure, characterised as prosoplectenchymatous , along with an additional epicortex layer. S. testudinea specimens frequently feature isidia, specialised outgrowths that aid in vegetative reproduction. [3]

Apothecia (reproductive structures) are a rarity in Stellarangia. When present, they have an orange colour and are classified as zeorine in form. The spores formed in the apothecia are polarilocular , with short septa. Pycnidia, a type of asexual fruiting body, have not been observed to occur in this genus. [3]

From a chemical perspective, Stellarangia falls into the A3 chemosyndrome , indicating a distinct set of secondary metabolites associated with the lichen. [3]

Habitat and distribution

Species of Stellarangia are found in dry, desert areas in Namibia and South Africa. [3] Stellarangia is part of lichen communities found in unique habitats beneath rocks (hypolithic) in the Namib Desert, which provide special microclimatic conditions conducive to their growth. They display an inverted morphology as an adaptive mechanism to high irradiance and low water availability in desert soils. Furthermore, an undescribed lichen-forming fungal species belonging to Stellarangia has been discovered in these habitats. [4]

Species

Related Research Articles

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Gyalolechia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi belonging to the family Teloschistaceae. It contains 18 species of crustose lichens.

Austroplaca is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has 10 species. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Ulrik Søchting, Patrik Frödén, and Ulf Arup, with Austroplaca ambitiosa assigned as the type species.

<i>Athallia</i> Genus of lichens

Athallia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It was circumscribed in 2013 by Ulf Arup, Patrik Frödén, and Ulrik Søchting, and the type species is Athallia holocarpa. The genus name means "without a thallus".

<i>Calogaya</i> Genus of lichens

Calogaya is a genus of lichen-forming fungi belonging to the family Teloschistaceae. It has 19 species. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Ulf Arup, Ulrik Søchting, and Patrik Frödén. The generic name Calogaya honours Dr. Ester Gaya, a Spanish botanist from the University of Barcelona.

<i>Flavoplaca</i> Genus of lichen

Flavoplaca is a genus of crust-like or scaly lichens in the family Teloschistaceae. It has 28 species with a mostly Northern Hemisphere distribution.

<i>Xanthocarpia</i> Genus of lichen

Xanthocarpia is a genus of mostly crustose lichens in the family Teloschistaceae. It has 12 species with a largely Northern Hemisphere distribution.

<i>Parvoplaca</i> Genus of lichen

Parvoplaca is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Ulrik Søchting, Patrik Frödén, and Ulf Arup.

<i>Squamulea</i> Genus of lichens

Squamulea is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has 15 species. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Ulf Arup, Ulrik Søchting, and Patrik Frödén, with Squamulea subsoluta assigned as the type species. Five species were included in the original account of the genus. The genus name alludes to the squamulose growth form of most of its species. Squamulea has a worldwide distribution; when the genus was originally created, the centre of distribution was thought to be in southwestern North America.

<i>Cerothallia</i> Genus of lichens

Cerothallia is a genus of crustose lichens in the family Teloschistaceae. It has four species, all of which occur in the Southern Hemisphere. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Ulf Arup, Patrik Frödén, and Ulrik Søchting, with Cerothallia luteoalba assigned as the type species. The type is more widely distributed, as it is also found in Europe and North America. The generic name Cerothallia means "with waxy thallus".

Sirenophila is a genus of crustose lichens in the subfamily Teloschistoideae of the family Teloschistaceae. It has four species with an Australasian distribution.

Villophora is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the subfamily Teloschistoideae of the family Teloschistaceae. It has 9 species. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Ulrik Søchting, Ulf Arup, and Patrik Frödén. They assigned Villophora isidioclada as the type, and at that time, only species in the genus. This lichen, previously classified in Caloplaca, is found in South America, Antarctica, and some subantarctic islands. Several additional species were added to the genus in 2021. The generic name Villophora means "carrying filaments".

<i>Wetmoreana</i> Genus of lichens

Wetmoreana is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has two crustose, saxicolous (rock-dwelling) species.

Teloschistopsis is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has three species.

Follmannia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has three species. All three species are crustose lichens, and all occur in South America.

Haloplaca is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the subfamily Teloschistaceae of the family Teloschistaceae. It contains three species of crustose lichens. The genus was circumscribed by Ulf Arup and colleagues in 2013, with Haloplaca britannica assigned as the type species. The genus name alludes to the preference of its species for salt-rich environments. All three species occur in the United Kingdom, but H. suaedae also occurs in Greece, Morocco and Turkey. Haloplaca species occur near the sea, either on rocks or on plant debris.

Gondwania is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the subfamily Xanthorioideae of the family Teloschistaceae. It has five species.

<i>Stellarangia namibensis</i> Species of lichen

Stellarangia namibensis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It was first formally described in 1988 by Ingvar Kärnefelt, as a member of the genus Caloplaca. The type specimen was collected by the author from the gravel flats east of Cape Cross, in Omaruru, Namibia. The same species was collected from Angola by Austrian botanist Friedrich Welwitsch in 1859. The taxon was transferred to the genus Stellarangia in 2013 by Ulrik Søchting and colleagues, as part of a molecular phylogenetics-based restructuring of the Teloschistaceae.

Orientophila is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has 15 species of mostly saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens. All Orientophila species occur in Northeast Asia including China, Japan, South Korea, and the Russian Far East.

Usnochroma is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has two species of crustose lichens. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by lichenologists Ulrik Søchting, Ulf Arup, and Patrik Frödén, with Usnochroma carphineum assigned as the type species. The genus name refers to the yellowish-green colour of the thallus, which is caused by the substance usnic acid. Usnochroma species occur in Macaronesia, South Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, and Algeria.

Scutaria is a single-species fungal genus in the family Teloschistaceae. It contains the species Scutaria andina, found in South America. The thallus of this lichen has a form that is intermediate between crustose and foliose.

References

  1. "Stellarangia". Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  2. Wijayawardene, N.N.; Hyde, K.D.; Dai, D.Q.; Sánchez-García, M.; Goto, B.T.; Saxena, R.K.; et al. (2022). "Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa – 2021". Mycosphere. 13 (1): 53–453 [157]. doi: 10.5943/mycosphere/13/1/2 . hdl: 10481/76378 . S2CID   249054641.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Arup, Ulf; Søchting, Ulrik; Frödén, Patrik (2013). "A new taxonomy of the family Teloschistaceae". Nordic Journal of Botany. 31 (1): 16–83. doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.2013.00062.x.
  4. de los Ríos, Asunción; Garrido-Benavent, Isaac; Limón, Alicia; Cason, Errol D.; Maggs-Kölling, Gillian; Cowan, Don; Valverde, Angel (2021). "Novel lichen-dominated hypolithic communities in the Namib Desert". Microbial Ecology. 83 (4): 1036–1048. doi:10.1007/s00248-021-01812-w. hdl: 10261/247257 . PMC   9015988 . PMID   34312709.