| Thelotrema fijiense | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Graphidales |
| Family: | Graphidaceae |
| Genus: | Thelotrema |
| Species: | T. fijiense |
| Binomial name | |
| Thelotrema fijiense | |
 | |
| Holotype site: Taveuni Island, Fiji [1] | |
Thelotrema fijiense is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae. [2] It is known from Fiji.
The lichen was described as new to science in 2011 by the lichenologists Helge Thorsten Lumbsch, Robert Lücking, and Alifereti Naikatini. The type specimen by the first author on the access road to the summit of Devo Peak on Taveuni Island. The species epithet fijiense refs to its type locality. [1]
Thelotrema fijiense has a thallus that is either epiphloedal or hypophloedal, thin, and varies in colour from whitish grey to pale olive or brown around the ascomata (fruiting bodies). The surface of the thallus can be either dull or shiny and is smooth and continuous, with a discontinuous protocortex up to 20 μm thick. The algal layer of the thallus is continuous, featuring sparse, small crystals. This species does not make vegetative propagules such as isidia or soredia. [1]
The ascomata of Thelotrema fijiense are roundish, measuring 0.2–0.4 mm in diameter, and appear either solitary or occasionally fused at the margins, with a semi-emergent to emergent, flattened-hemispherical shape. The disc of the ascomata may become partly visible, with a greyish to pale flesh-coloured hue and is slightly pruinose . The pores are small, up to 0.25 μm in diameter, and range from roundish to slightly irregular. The proper exciple is visible from the surface, and is whitish to off-white, and incurved. The thalline margin of the lichen is thin, widening or occasionally gaping with age, olive-brown to brown in colour, and usually roundish to irregularly roundish with an entire edge. The proper exciple becomes free, at least in part, and is hyaline (translucent) to pale yellowish internally, with a yellowish-brown marginal area that is amyloid at the base. The hymenium is up to 140 μm high, clear, and conglutinated with moderately interwoven paraphyses that are unbranched to slightly branched, with slightly thickened tips. Lateral paraphyses are inconspicuous and up to 30 μm long, but no columellar structures are present. The epihymenium is hyaline to brown and granulose . [1]
Asci in this species are eight-spored with a thick tholus that narrows at maturity. The ascospores are transversely septate with thick, smooth, non- halonate , and hyaline cell walls that turn brown at maturity. They are fusiform in shape, with ends that are roundish to acute, and loci that are angular to roundish, measuring 19–27 by 5–7 μm with 9 septa (sometimes as few as 7, or as many as 9). Pycnidia have not been observed in this species, and high-performance thin-layer chromatography indicates the absence of any secondary substances (all spot tests are negative). [1]
Thelotrema fijiense has been identified solely from its type location on Taveuni Island in Fiji. It is found growing on twigs within a cloud forest, at an elevation of 800 m (2,600 ft). [1]
Austrotrema is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It is primarily found in the Australian-Southeast Asian region. The genus is characterized by small, pore-like apothecia with a double margin, faintly amyloid ascospores, and stictic acid chemistry. Austrotrema species grow on tree bark and have a continuous thallus with a cortex that is prosoplectenchymatous–featuring densely packed, filamentous fungal hyphae that run parallel to the surface of the lichen, creating a compact and firm texture. The genus is closely related to Thelotrema and Leucodecton, but can be distinguished from them based on molecular phylogenetic data, specific morphological traits, and its secondary chemistry. Currently, Austrotrema comprises three species.
Asteristion is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has seven species. Previously considered a synonym of either Phaeotrema or Thelotrema, molecular evidence led to its resurrection as a distinct genus. Asteristion lichens are corticolous (bark-dwelling), featuring a continuous thallus with a loose to hardened cortex and a photobiont layer containing calcium oxalate crystals. The ascomata, or fruiting bodies, are characterized by their large, often chroodiscoid appearance and the presence of distinct periphysoids. The secondary chemistry of these lichens includes major concentrations of stictic acid and minor to trace amounts of associated substances.
Fissurina capsulata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in India, it was formally described as a new species in 2007 by Urmila Makhija and Bharati Adawadkar. The lichen is native to Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, where it was first identified near Daisy Bank in 1975.
Fissurina coarctata is a species of script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in India, where it grows in tropical rainforests and moist deciduous forests. This corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen is primarily found on exposed tree trunks along roadsides. Its thallus has a yellowish-brown to olive-green colour and has a thick, verrucose texture. The species was formally described as new to science in 2007 by Urmila Makhija and Bharati Adawadkar.
Fissurina karnatakensis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in India, it was formally described as a new species in 2007 by Urmila Makhija and Bharati Adawadkar. It grows on tree trunks in exposed conditions along roadsides within moist forests, particularly in Karnataka, a state known for its many endemic lichen species.
Fissurina khasiana is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in India, specifically in the evergreen forests of Upper Shillong in the Khasi Hills; its species name is derived from the region where it was first collected. The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2007 by Urmila Makhija and Bharati Adawadkar.
Fissurina longiramea is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in various locations across India, including the Andaman Islands, Karnataka, and the Nicobar Islands, where it grows in tropical rainforests. The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2007 by Urmila Makhija and Bharati Adawadkar.
Fissurina amyloidea is a little-known species of script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is found in the primary rainforests of Rondônia, Brazil. It is characterized by its weakly carbonizedlirellae and thick-walled, strongly amyloid ascospores. Despite its superficial similarity to Fissurina subfurfuracea, F. amyloidea exhibits unique anatomical features that set it apart from other species within the genus.
Glyphis frischiana is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) script lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is distinguished by its large ascospores, single-spored asci, and the presence of stictic acid as a major metabolite. Found on the trunk of Eucalyptus trees in Cameroon, it is similar in appearance to Glyphis atrofusca but can be distinguished by these key characteristics.
Ocellularia portoricensis is a rare species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It was discovered in Puerto Rico, where it grows on tree trunks within shadowy understories of specific forests. This organism is distinct from other related lichens by its unique characteristics such as a white medulla and relatively larger, brown-tinted ascospores.
Aspiciliopsis is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Trapeliaceae. It has two species, both of which occur in the Southern Hemisphere.
Astrothelium conjugatum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae, first described in 2016. It is known to occur in Sri Lanka.
Elixjohnia bermaguiana is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in Australia. The lichen is characterised by its varying areoles, which are thin to moderately thick, flat to slightly convex, and range from bright yellow to whitish in colour, sometimes with a greenish-yellow hue. Its apothecia are small, with a distinct orange margin and a raised brownish-orange or yellowish-brown disc.
Harpidium gavilaniae is a little-known species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Harpidiaceae. It is found in the Northern Cape Province in South Africa.
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.
Megalospora austropacifica is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Megalosporaceae. It is found on the islands of Taveuni and Viti Levu in Fiji. It has a yellowish grey to whitish grey, glossy thallus that is thick and may appear slightly wrinkled or smooth, often with irregular cracks and small papillae containing conidiomata, but lacking isidia and soredia. Its apothecia are circular, up to 4.5 mm in diameter, with the disc evolving from concave to slightly convex and coloured from orange-brown to red-brown, surrounded by a thick, prominent margin.
Malmidea cineracea is a little-known species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Malmideaceae. It is found in Nicaragua.
Enterographa dokdoensis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), script lichen in the family Roccellaceae. It occurs in South Korea. The lichen has a thallus that can cover areas up to 5–10 cm in diameter, with a smooth to roughened texture and a green-grey to mauve colour.
Flavoplaca oasis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is widely distributed across Europe, and has been reported in Western Asia, China, and North Africa.
Ocellularia vizcayensis is a rare species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae. It is known from a single collection made in Luzon, Philippines. The lichen thallus is a white, irregularly structured, areolate surface with a layer that includes a photosynthetic partner, both containing large calcium oxalate crystals. Its fruiting bodies are either embedded or protruding, round, with very narrow openings, and contain large, oblong, colorless spores that turn violet-blue when stained with iodine.