A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship. Lichens are important actors in nutrient cycling and act as producers which many higher trophic feeders feed on, such as reindeer, gastropods, nematodes, mites, and springtails. Lichens have properties different from those of their component organisms. They come in many colors, sizes, and forms and are sometimes plant-like, but are not plants. They may have tiny, leafless branches (fruticose); flat leaf-like structures (foliose); grow crust-like, adhering tightly to a surface (substrate) like a thick coat of paint (crustose); have a powder-like appearance (leprose); or other growth forms.
Operation Tabarin was the code name for a secret British expedition to the Antarctic during World War Two, operational 1943–46. Conducted by the Admiralty on behalf of the Colonial Office, its primary objective was to strengthen British claims to sovereignty of the British territory of the Falkland Islands Dependencies (FID), to which Argentina and Chile had made counter claims since the outbreak of war. This was done by establishing permanently occupied bases, carrying out administrative activities such as postal services and undertaking scientific research. The meteorological observations made aided Allied shipping in the South Atlantic Ocean.
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.
Verrucaria is a genus of lichenized (lichen-forming) fungi in the family Verrucariaceae.
Sarcopyrenia is a genus of lichenicolous (lichen-dwelling) fungi. It has 11 species. It is the only genus in Sarcopyreniaceae, a family in the order Verrucariales. Sarcopyrenia was circumscribed by Finnish lichenologist William Nylander in 1858, with Sarcopyrenia gibba assigned as the type species. Sarcopyreniaceae is one of the few families composed entirely of lichenicolous fungi.
Frigidopyrenia is a fungal genus in the family Xanthopyreniaceae. It is a monotypic genus, containing the single species Frigidopyrenia bryospila, a subarctic crustose lichen. This lichen was originally described by Finnish lichenologist William Nylander in 1864 as Verrucaria bryospila. It was shuffled to several genera in its taxonomic history before Martin Grube circumscribed Frigidopyrenia in 2005 to contain it. As of 2017, no molecular sequence data was available for Frigidopyrenia.
Elke Mackenzie, born Ivan Mackenzie Lamb, was a British polar explorer and botanist who specialized in the field of lichenology. Beginning her education at the Edinburgh Academy, Mackenzie later pursued botany at Edinburgh University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1933. In Operation Tabarin, a secret World War II mission to Antarctica, she identified and documented many lichen species, several of them previously unknown to science.
Hydropunctaria maura, still often called by the older name Verrucaria maura and commonly known as tar lichen, is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen belonging to the family Verrucariaceae. A perennial species that does not experience seasonal variations, it is the type species of the genus Hydropunctaria. The medulla is a black basal layer that forms columns to the upper surface and isolates the algae into pockets near the upper surface. The black band formed by H. maura can often be seen at a distance as a marker of the high water point.
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.
Wahlenbergiella is a genus of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens in the family Verrucariaceae. It has three species, all of which live in marine intertidal zones where they get periodically immersed in seawater. Wahlenbergiella closely resembles another lichen genus that includes marine species, Hydropunctaria. Wahlenbergiella was circumscribed in 2009 by Cécile Gueidan and Holger Thüs. They initially included two species: W. striatula, and the type,W. mucosa. The generic name honours Swedish naturalist Göran Wahlenberg, who originally described both of these species.
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 rhizicola is a rare species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), aquatic, crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in France, it was formally described as a new species in 2011 by lichenologists André Aptroot and Holger Thüs. The type specimen was collected by the first author from the Forêt de Boulogne (Pas-de-Calais). There, the lichen was growing on the roots of common alder. It is only known from the type collection. The species epithet rhizicola refers to its growth on roots. The roots holding the lichen are located along a stream in a temperate forest, and as such, the lichen is regularly immersed in fresh water. Verrucaria rhizicola is one of about 20 corticolous species in genus Verrucaria. In addition to its uncommon habitat, other unique characteristics of this species are the prominent, minute, shiny ascomata that have a distinctive dimidiate involucrellum, and the asymmetrically kidney-shaped ascospores.
Verrucaria madida is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), aquatic, crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. Found in Europe, it was formally described as a new species in 2004 by British lichenologist Alan Orange. The type specimen was collected by the author west of Murat, Cantal, France at an altitude of about 1,000 m (3,300 ft). There it was growing on shallowly submerged rocks in a lightly shaded woodland stream. The lichen has a thin, smooth, dark green to dark greenish-grey thallus with a somewhat gelatinous consistency. The asci of Verrucaria madida contain four ascospores; this is highly unusual for genus Verrucaria, which typically has eight-spored asci.
Rhagadostoma is a genus of fungi in the family Nitschkiaceae. All species in the genus are lichenicolous, meaning they live parasitically on lichens.
Verrucaria funckii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), semi-aquatic, crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It occurs on inundated or submerged rocks and pebbles in streams and lakeshores. It is widespread in Europe, including Northern Europe and Iceland, central Europe including the Carpathians and the Alps, and southern Europe. It is also found in Asia and North America.
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 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 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.
