Variospora aegaea

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Variospora aegaea
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Teloschistales
Family: Teloschistaceae
Genus: Variospora
Species:
V. aegaea
Binomial name
Variospora aegaea
(Sipman) Arup, Frödén & Søchting (2013)
Synonyms [1]
  • Caloplaca aegaeaSipman (2002)

Variospora aegaea is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. First identified from Greek islands in the Aegean Sea (after which it is named), and has since been recorded in Italy and Spain.

Contents

Taxonomy

The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2002 in Dutch lichenologist Harrie Sipman. The type specimen was collected from Paros (in the Cyclades archipelago), at an altitude of 150–200 m (490–660 ft). There the lichen was found growing on west- and south-facing schistose rock outcrops. The lichen was named for its Greek distribution, as it was first recorded from Paros, Antiparos, and Kalymnos, which are Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. [2] It was transferred to the newly circumscribed genus Variospora in 2013 following a molecular phylogenetic study of the family Teloschistaceae. [3]

Description

Variospora aegaea has a yellowish to brownish-orange thallus that is placodioid with an areolate centre and a lobed margin. The individuals areoles are convex and measure about 0.2–0.4 mm wide. The lobes on the margin are about 1–1.5 mm long and 0.2–0.3 mm wide, and have a loose attachment to its substrate;. The width of the upper cortex ranges between 20 and 60  μm. The algal layer (containing the photobiont partner), about 100 μm thick, contains scattered bundles of periclinal hyphae. Apothecia are frequent on the thallus surface; they are rounded, typically measuring 0.4–0.8 μm in diameter. They have a distinct margin (about 0.1 mm wide), and a somewhat darker disc. The ascospores, which number 8 per ascus, are hyaline, and polarilocular (divided into two polar components). They initially have an ellipsoid shape before widening with a widened septum, reaching dimensions of 10–15 by 9–11 μm, with a septum that is 4–5 μm thick. [3]

Habitat and distribution

Variospora aegaea occurs mostly on the horizontal faces of rocks and boulders at altitudes between 5 and 150 m (16 and 492 ft), usually at locations not far from the sea. It has been found in Paros, Antiparos and Kalimnos in the Aegean Sea, as well as Sardinia, Italy, and in southeastern Spain. [2]

Related Research Articles

Teloschistaceae Family of lichen-forming fungi

The Teloschistaceae are a large family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. The family, estimated to contain over 1800 species, was extensively revised in 2013, including the creation or resurrection of 31 genera. It contains three subfamilies: Xanthorioideae, Caloplacoideae, and Teloschistoideae. A fourth subfamily, Brownlielloideae, proposed in 2015, has been shown to be part of the Teloschistoideae.

<i>Variospora</i> Genus of fungi

Variospora is a genus of crustose lichens, belonging to the family Teloschistaceae.

<i>Athallia</i> Genus of fungi

Athallia is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Teloschistaceae. It was first described 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>Igneoplaca</i> Lichen genus

Igneoplaca is a genus in the subfamily Xanthorioideae of the family Teloschistaceae. It contains a single species, the crustose lichen Igneoplaca ignea.

<i>Rufoplaca</i> Genus of lichens

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

<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>Dufourea</i> (lichen) Genus of lichens

Dufourea is a genus of mostly foliose lichen species in the subfamily Xanthorioideae of the family Teloschistaceae. Species in the genus are found in the Southern Hemisphere.

<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.

Buellia epifimbriata is a species of lichenicolous (lichen-eating) crustose lichen in the family Caliciaceae. It is only known to occur on Antiparos and Kos, two Greek islands in the southern Aegean Sea.

Acarospora pseudofuscata is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Acarosporaceae. It occurs on a few islands in the Aegean Sea and in Turkey.

Gallowayella aphrodites is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in the Mediterranean countries Greece, Cyprus, and Italy. Characteristics of the lichen include its small thallus, the disposition of the rhizines on the thallus undersurface, and the lack of vegetative propagules.

Pertusaria pseudoparotica is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Pertusariaceae. It is known from a few localities in Greece's Aegean Islands.

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".

Variospora cancarixiticola is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in southeastern Spain, where it grows on cancarixite, a volcanic rock known only to occur in that country.

Amundsenia austrocontinentalis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae, and the type species of genus Amundsenia. Found in Antarctica, it was formally described as a new species in 2014 by Isaac Garrido-Benavent, Ulrik Søchting, Sergio Pérez-Ortega, and Rod Seppelt. The type specimen was collected by the last author from Mule Peninsula, where it was found growing on small stones in glacial till. The species epithet austrocontinentalis refers to its distribution in continental Antarctica.

References

  1. ↑ "Synonymy: Variospora aegaea (Sipman) Arup, Frödén & Søchting, Nordic Jl Bot. 31(1): 76 (2013)". Species Fungorum . Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 Sipman, H.J.M.; Raus, T. (2002). "An inventory of the lichen flora of Kalimnos and parts of Kos (Dodecanisos, Greece)". Willdenowia. 32 (2): 351–392. doi: 10.3372/wi.32.32216 .
  3. 1 2 Arup, U.; Søchting, U.; Frödén, P. (2013). "A new taxonomy of the family Teloschistaceae". Nordic Journal of Botany. 31 (1): 16–83 [75]. doi:10.1111/j.1756-1051.2013.00062.x.
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