| Verrucaria oulankaensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Eurotiomycetes |
| Order: | Verrucariales |
| Family: | Verrucariaceae |
| Genus: | Verrucaria |
| Species: | V. oulankaensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Verrucaria oulankaensis Pykälä & Myllys (2017) | |
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.
The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2017 by Juha Pykälä and Leena Myllys. The type specimen was collected by the first author along the shore of the Oulankajoki river in Oulanka National Park (Koillismaa); there, at an altitude of 180 m (590 ft), it was found growing on a dolomite rock outcrop jutting out from a southwest-facing rock wall. The species epithet oulankaensis refers to the predominance of collections from the Oulanka area, which the authors call "one of the lichenologically most important areas in Finland". [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]
The colour of the crust-like thallus Verrucaria oulankaensis ranges from pale brown to brownish grey, medium brown or dark brown, and usually grey with a pruinose covering. It has a dark brown prothallus. The perithecia are immersed in the thallus, and measure 0.12–0.27 mm in diameter, and have a dark ostiole (pore) that is often inconspicuous. The exciple (the ring-shaped tissue layer surrounding the hymenium) measures 0.15–0.25 mm and has a dark brown wall. Algal cells are 5–10 μm wide. The asci contain eight spores and measure about 50–61 by 19–24 μm. Ascospores are 16.2–19.3 by 7.7–9.1 μm and lack a perispore (a colorless, often gelatinous enveloping layer). [1]
Verrucaria oulankaensis grows on calcareous rocks, and all collections have been made from rivers shores – a particular habitat that is rare in Finland. The lichen is known to occur only in Oulanka area of northeastern Finland. A common lichen associate in its habitat is Staurothele areolata . Other rare lichens occurring in this area are Nephroma helveticum and Peltigera retifoveata . [1]
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.
Verrucaria nigrescens is a widespread species of crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It was first formally described as a new species by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1795. The lichen produces a very dark brown thallus that grows on rocks; the medulla is black. There are black perithecia that resemble buried dots, and which measure 0.15–0.3 mm in diameter. Ascospores measure 14–24 by 7–11 μm.
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".
Staurothele elenkinii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It was described as new to science by Ukrainian lichenologist Alfred Oxner in 1927, from the steppes of Ukraine. In 2013 it was recorded from the northeast Caucasus, in Russia. It is also widespread on dry rocks in the North American west, ranging from the Northwest Territories south to the southwestern United States. It grows on shales, sandstones, and calcareous rocks.
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 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.
Verrucaria kiyosumiensis is a species saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in semi-freshwater habitats in Chiba Prefecture, central Japan, it was formally described as a new species in 2001 by lichenologist Hiroshi Harada. The lichen has almost spherical, exposed black perithecia measuring 0.15–0.25 mm in diameter, and dark purplish brown perithecial walls lacking a distinct involucrellum. The periphyses are 10–15 μm long with pointed apices, and its ascospores have dimensions of 12–16 by 5–7 μm. The lichen has an indistinct thallus.
Wahlenbergiella tavaresiae is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Known from several locations in the San Francisco Bay area of the United States, it is a marine lichen that inhabits intertidal zones, and as such is immersed in seawater on a regular basis. Associated algal species include the red algae Hildenbrandia and Mastocarpus papillatus, and the brown algae Pelvetiopsis and Fucus. Petroderma maculiforme, a brown alga, is the photobiont partner in the lichen.
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 simplex is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in Europe and Asia, it was described as new to science in 1988 by lichenologist Patrick McCarthy. The type specimen was collected by Brian Coppins from Morpeth, Northumberland; there, it was found growing on a fragment of mortar-cement lying on the floor of a woodland. The lichen was later reported from the Czech Republic, and Korea.
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 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.