Parmelia sulcata, commonly known as the hammered shield lichen or cracked-shield lichen, is a foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. First described by Thomas Taylor in 1836, it is one of the most prevalent lichen species globally, known for its resilience to pollution and cosmopolitan distribution across temperate and cold regions of both hemispheres. P. sulcata forms a circular thallus up to 10 cm (4 in) in diameter, with a glaucous white to grey upper surface and a black lower surface, featuring broadly lobed structures with both marginal and laminal soralia and a distinctive reticulate pattern of pseudocyphellae.
Sphaerellothecium is a genus of fungi in the family Phyllachoraceae. All of the species in the genus are lichenicolous, meaning they grow parasitically on lichens.
A lichenicolous fungus is a member of a specialised group of fungi that live exclusively on lichens as their host organisms. These fungi, comprising over 2,000 known species across 280 genera, exhibit a wide range of ecological strategies, including parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism. They can be found in diverse environments worldwide, from tropical to polar regions, and play important roles in lichen ecology and biodiversity. Lichenicolous fungi are classified into several taxonomic groups, with the majority belonging to the Ascomycota and a smaller portion to the Basidiomycota. Their interactions with host lichens range from mild parasitism to severe pathogenicity, sometimes causing significant damage to lichen communities.
Pseudopyrenula serusiauxii is a species of lichen-forming fungus in the family Trypetheliaceae. It is found in Papua New Guinea. The lichen appears as a greenish discolouration on the trunks of Macaranga trees.
Taeniolella serusiauxii is a species of lichenicolous fungus in the family Mytilinidiaceae. It was described as a new species in 1992 by Paul Diederich. The type was collected in France, where it was found growing on Dendrographa decolorans. The specific epithet serusiauxii honours the Belgian lichenologist Emmanuël Sérusiaux.
Sclerococcum serusiauxii is a species of lichenicolous fungus in the family Dactylosporaceae. It was described as a new species in 1993 by Montserrat Boqueras and Paul Diederich. The type was collected in Col de la Pierre St Martin, at an altitude of 1,550 m (5,090 ft). Here, the fungus was growing on the lichen Parmelina pastillifera, which itself was growing on Pinus uncinata. The specific epithet honours Belgian lichenologist Emmanuël Sérusiaux, who collected the type specimen in 1989. S. serusiauxii has also been recorded from Montenegro.
Xenonectriella subimperspicua is a species of lichenicolous fungus in the family Nectriaceae. It has been recorded from South America, Europe, and New Zealand.
Zwackhiomyces parmotrematis is a species of lichenicolous fungus in the family Xanthopyreniaceae. Found in Suriname, it was formally described as a new species in 2018 by Dutch lichenologist Pieter van den Boom. The type was collected west of Groningen in an abandoned Citrus orchard. Here it was found growing on the thallus of Parmotrema praesorediosum. The fungus does not cause visible damage to its host, such as discolouration or the formation of galls; rather, it produces tiny black, spherical perithecia that are immersed in the host thallus. The specific epithet parmotrematis refers to the genus of its host lichen.
Sclerococcum sipmanii is a rare species of lichenicolous fungus in the family Dactylosporaceae. Found in Malaysia, it was formally described as a new species in 2015 by Belgian mycologist Paul Diederich. The type specimen was found on the southern slope of Mount Kinabalu at an altitude of 2,800 m (9,200 ft); here, in a mossy forest on a mountain ridge, it was found growing on the lichen Anomomorpha cf. roseola. The fungus forms black, convex, rounded sporodochia typically measuring 100–200 μm in diameter; the fungus does not otherwise cause visible damage to the host lichen. Sclerococcum sipmanii is only known to occur at the type locality. The species epithet honours Dutch lichenologist Harrie Sipman, one of the collectors of the type.
Sclerococcum aptrootii is a species of lichenicolous fungus in the family Dactylosporaceae. Found in Puerto Rico, it was formally described as a new species in 2015 by Belgian mycologist Paul Diederich. The type specimen was collected in Maricao State Forest north of Sabana Grande (Mayagüez), at an altitude of 800 m (2,600 ft); here, in a low mountain forest, it was found growing on the lichen Fissurina dumastii. It is only known to occur at the type locality. The fungus forms black, rounded sporodochia that measure 50–100 μm in diameter; it does not otherwise damage the host. The species epithet honours Dutch lichenologist André Aptroot, who collected the type in 1989.
Neoechinodiscus kozhevnikovii is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-eating) fungus in the order Helotiales. It is known to occur in Russia, Austria, and Switzerland, where it grows parasitically on lichens in genus Cetraria.
Graphium samogiticum is a little-known species of lichenicolous (lichen-eating) fungus in the family Microascaceae. It is found in Lithuania, where it parasitises two lichen species that inhabit abandoned gravel pits.
Phacopsis vulpicidae is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungus in the family Parmeliaceae. It was formally described as a new species in 2019 by mycologists Mikhail P. Zhurbenko and Paul Diederich. The type specimen was collected by the first author near the headwaters of Ar Khordolyn gol River in Renchinlkhümbe Somon, at an altitude of 2,050 m (6,730 ft). There, in the upper limit of a Larix sibirica forest, the fungus was found growing on the thallus of a ground-dwelling Vulpicida juniperina lichen. The species epithet vulpicidae refers to the genus of its host. Infections by the fungus cause blister-like (bullate) swellings of the host thallus. It is known to occur in arctic and mountain tundra and taiga biomes of Asia, Europe, and North America (Alaska). Its only recorded host is Vulpicida juniperina, and almost all recorded host specimens have been terricolous.
Phacopsis thallicola is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungus in the family Parmeliaceae. It was first formally described as a new species in 1852 by Italian botanist Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo, as Lecidea thallicola. The type specimen, collected from the province of Treviso in Italy, was growing on the foliose lichen Parmelia caperata. Dagmar Triebel and Gerhard Walter Rambold transferred the taxon to the genus Phacopsis in 1988. The known generic hosts of Phacopsis thallicola are all in the Parmeliaceae: Parmotrema, Cetrelia, Flavopunctelia, and Hypotrachyna.
Tremella anaptychiae is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungus in the family Tremellaceae. It was first reported in the literature in 1996 by mycologist Paul Diederich, who did not formally describe it as a new species due to the paucity of material. Additional material was collected in later years, and it was finally described in 2017 by Juan Carlos Zamora and Diederich. The fungus is known to occur in Italy, Macedonia, Spain, and Sweden. It is confined to the host lichen Anaptychia ciliaris, which has a largely palearctic distribution.
Tremella imshaugiae, is a lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungus that is parasitic on the lichen Imshaugia aleurites. It is a species of Basidiomycota belonging to the family Tremellaceae.
Zwackhiomyces echinulatus is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungus in the family Xanthopyreniaceae. Thus fungus exclusively colonises the lichen species Physconia distorta. This fungus is notable for specific structural features that distinguish it from other members of its genus, and for its niche habitat found only in particular regions of Sicily, Italy.
Gallowayella weberi is a species of corticolous and saxicolous, foliose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. Found in the eastern United States, it is a small lichen with a smooth yellow to orange upper surface and a contrasting white lower surface.
Sclerococcum toensbergii is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungus in the family Sclerococcaceae. It is known from only a couple of collections made in the northwestern United States, and a collection in France. In the United States, it has been recorded on the bark-dwelling lichens Megalaria pulverea and Pertusaria carneopallida, while in France, it was found growing on Caloplaca cerina.
Serusiauxia is a monotypic fungal genus in the family Pyrenulaceae. It contains a single species, Serusiauxia inexpectata, a corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen found in Mauritius. Serusiauxia is morphologically distinct within the Pyrenulaceae due to its sorediate thallus and chemistry involving gyrophoric acid, a combination of characteristics that is not observed in any other Pyrenulaceae genera.
