| Verrucaria ahtii | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Eurotiomycetes |
| Order: | Verrucariales |
| Family: | Verrucariaceae |
| Genus: | Verrucaria |
| Species: | V. ahtii |
| Binomial name | |
| Verrucaria ahtii Pykälä, Launis & Myllys (2017) | |
Verrucaria ahtii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It is found in Finland, Lithuania, Russia, and Switzerland, where it occurs on calcareous pebbles.
The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2017 by Juha Pykälä, Annina Launis, and Leena Myllys. The type specimen was collected by the first author in Lohja (Southwest Finland) on a high road bank northwest of a lime processing factory; there it was found growing on a pebbles that may have been enriched by calcium-rich dust. The species epithet honours Finnish lichenologist Teuvo Ahti, "for his major contributions to lichenology". [1] The type specimen is kept in the collections of the mycological herbaria of the Botanical Museum of the Finnish Museum of Natural History. [2]
Molecular phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences from the internal transcribed spacer regions shows that Verrucaria ahtii is closely related to V. vitikainenii . [1]
The crust-like thallus Verrucaria ahtii is usually from medium brown to dark grey (rarely, it is grey), and has a flake-like consistency. It has a medium- to dark-brown prothallus that is often inconspicuous. The perithecia are partly immersed in the thallus, measure 0.15–0.32 mm in diameter, and have a dark, flat, inconspicuous ostiole (pore). The exciple (the ring-shaped tissue layer surrounding the hymenium) measures 0.16–0.32 mm and has a dark brown wall about 13–18 μm thick. Algal cells are 5–11 μm wide. Ascospores are 20.6–25.5 by 10.2–12.4 μm and lack a perispore (a colorless, often gelatinous enveloping layer). [1]
Verrucaria ahtii grows on calcareous pebbles, and on siliceous pebbles that have been enriched with calcareous dust. It prefers sunny habitats, and has been recorded from south-facing rock walls in lime quarries. The lichen was originally known to occur in Finland, Lithuania, and Russia. [1] In 2018, it was recorded from Switzerland, where it was found growing on calcareous plaster on a humid and shaded wall. [3] The Lithuanian and Russian collections were incorrectly reported as Verrucaria invenusta . [1]
Verrucariaceae is a family of lichens and a few non-lichenised fungi in the order Verrucariales. The lichens have a wide variety of thallus forms, from crustose (crust-like) to foliose (bushy) and squamulose (scaly). Most of them grow on land, some in freshwater and a few in the sea. Many are free-living but there are some species that are parasites on other lichens, while one marine species always lives together with a leafy green alga.
Micarea is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Pilocarpaceae. The widely distributed genus contains 126 species and new species are described actively. Species in the genus are crustose lichens and their photobiont is a single-celled green alga.
Verrucaria is a genus of lichenized (lichen-forming) fungi in the family Verrucariaceae.
Teuvo ("Ted") Tapio Ahti is a Finnish botanist and lichenologist. He has had a long career at the University of Helsinki that started in 1963, and then following his retirement in 1997, at the Botanical Museum of the Finnish Museum of Natural History. Known as a specialist of the lichen family Cladoniaceae, Ahti has published more than 280 scientific publications. A Festschrift was dedicated to him in 1994, and in 2000 he was awarded the prestigious Acharius Medal for lifetime contributions to lichenology.
Orvo Vitikainen is a Finnish lichenologist. He entered the University of Helsinki in 1961, from where he obtained a Candidate of Philosophy degree in 1966, and a Licentiate of Philosophy in 1971. He later earned a Ph.D. from this institution in 1994, under the supervision of Teuvo Ahti. Between the years 1961 and 1981 he was a junior curator of cryptogams at the University of Helsinki Botanical Garden, and then from 1983 to 2004 he was the head of the lichen herbarium. Here he managed the internationally valuable collections of the early lichenologists Erik Acharius and William Nylander. He has collected thousands of specimens for the herbarium from various locations in Finland, but also internationally, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russian Karelia, Scotland, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Croatia, Montenegro, Tanzania, Kenya, British Columbia, and Brazil. In 1992–1994, he was a scientist of the Finnish Academy in the Ahti research group.
Hydropunctaria is a genus of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens in the family Verrucariaceae. The genus includes both aquatic and amphibious species, with members that colonise either marine or freshwater habitats. The type species, Hydropunctaria maura, was formerly classified in the large genus Verrucaria. It is a widely distributed species common to littoral zones. Including the type species, five Hydropunctaria lichens are considered marine species: H. adriatica, H. amphibia, H. aractina, H. orae, and H. oceanica.
Veli Johannes Paavo Bartholomeus Räsänen was a Finnish lichenologist.
Micarea fennica is a species of lichen in the family Pilocarpaceae. Originally found in Finland, it was formally described as a new species in 2019 by lichenogists Annina Launis and Leena Myllis. The type specimen was discovered in an old growth forest in Kalajanvuori, Rautalampi,. Here it was found growing on the softened wood of a standing dead Pinus sylvestris, along with Micarea prasina.
Atla is a genus of crustose lichens in the family Verrucariaceae. It has nine species that grow on rocks or on soil.
Atla oulankaensis is a rare species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It has been recorded in Finland and in the Canadian arctic, growing on calciferous rock and on high-pH soil.
Atla tibelliorum is a rare species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in Finland and the United States, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Juha Pykälä and Leena Myllys. The type specimen was collected by the first author near Toskaljärvi lake ; there, in a calcareous alpine grassland at an altitude of 730 m (2,400 ft), the lichen was found growing on dolomite pebbles. It has also been collected from Franklin Bluffs, Alaska, where it was growing on high-pH soil in dwarf shrub tundra. The species epithet tibelliorum honours "Sanja and Leif Tibell, the mother and father of the genus Atla".
Atla vitikainenii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in northern Finland, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Juha Pykälä and Leena Myllys. The type specimen was collected by the first author from Oulanka National Park, at an altitude of 185 m (607 ft); there, it was found growing on pebbles in a northeast-facing dolomite rock outcrop. The species epithet honours Finnish lichenologist Orvo Vitikainen, who, according to the authors, "has contributed in many ways to our knowledge of the taxonomy, ecology and biogeography of Finnish lichens".
Verrucaria vitikainenii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It is found in Finland, where it occurs on calcareous rock outcrops.
Verrucaria oulankaensis is a rare species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It is found in north-eastern Finland, where it occurs on calcareous rocks on river shores.
Verrucaria muralis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling, crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It is a common species with an almost cosmopolitan distribution, occurring in an altitudinal range extending from the lowlands to the subalpine zone. It grows on calcareous rocks and walls. It was first formally described as a new species in 1803 by Swedish lichenologist Erik Acharius.
Verrucaria nodosa is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in freshwater habitats in Wales, it was formally described as a new species in 2013 by lichenologist Alan Orange. The type specimen was collected by the author north-west of Llanuwchllyn, Merioneth, where it was found growing on an unshaded rock in a stream. The lichen has a grey-green to dark brown thallus with an uneven surface crust. Its ascomata are in the form of somewhat convex to hemispherical perithecia measuring 220–460 μm in diameter, with an inconspicuous or tiny ostiole. Ascospores are ellipsoid and colourless, lack any septa, and typically measure 20.5–22.2–24.0 by 90–97–105 μm. The species is known only from a few streams in Wales, where it grows on shaded or lightly shaded rocks. Associated lichen species include Ionaspis lacustris, Rhizocarpon lavatum, Porpidia hydrophila, Sporodictyon cruentum, and Trapelia coarctata, as well as the mosses Racomitrium aciculare and Scapania undulata.
Verrucaria rosula is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in freshwater habitats in Europe, it was formally described as a new species in 2013 by lichenologist Alan Orange. The type specimen was collected by the author from Cwm Dringarth, Brecon Beacons (Brecknockshire), where it was found growing on an unshaded rock in a flush. The lichen has a grey-green to brown thallus that is 40–200 μm thick. New thallus growth is initiated by tiny, roughly spherical or polyhedral granules that increase in size to eventually form somewhat circular, rosette-like patches; the species epithet rosula refers to this type of growth. Verrucaria rosula has been recorded in Wales, southwest England, Scotland, and France, where it occurs on damp siliceous rocks and stones near streams or on flushed ground. Lichens that associate with V. rosula include Ionaspis lacustris, Thelidium pluvium, Verrucaria cernaensis, V. hydrophila, V. sublobulata and V. margacea.
Verrucaria kowenensis is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It is found in the Australian Capital Territory of Australia, where it grows on silica-rich soil.
Verrucaria viridula is a common and widely distributed species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Although it is a somewhat morphologically variable species, two persistent distinguishing characteristics are its relatively large perithecia, which are often curved into a beak, and its large ascospores.