Xanthoparmelia beccae

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Xanthoparmelia beccae
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Lecanorales
Family: Parmeliaceae
Genus: Xanthoparmelia
Species:
X. beccae
Binomial name
Xanthoparmelia beccae
Aptroot (2008)

Xanthoparmelia beccae is a species of saxicolous and terricolous (rock- and soil-dwelling) foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. [2] Endemic to the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, it has been assessed as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to its small population and threats to its habitat. [1]

Contents

Taxonomy

Xanthoparmelia beccae was first described by the Dutch lichenologist André Aptroot in 2008 based on specimens collected during a lichen survey of Saint Helena in 2006. The specific epithet beccae honours Rebecca Cairns-Wicks for her assistance in introducing Aptroot to the plants and vegetation of Saint Helena during his field work. [3]

Aptroot noted that X. beccae superficially resembles Xanthoparmelia eradicata , which occurs in South Africa, but differs in having a denser branching pattern and being isidiate . The coralline growth form of X. beccae is unusual for the genus Xanthoparmelia. [3]

Description

Xanthoparmelia beccae has a foliose thallus that appears fruticose , forming dense, nearly hemispherical tufts up to 3 cm in diameter. The marginal lobes are branched, convex, slightly flattened, and generally about 0.3 mm wide (up to 0.8 mm wide). The upper surface is greenish-grey due to the presence of usnic acid, with blackened lobe tips. The lower surface is dark brown to black, especially towards the tips, with numerous simple black rhizines about 0.2 mm long. [3]

Most of the thallus is covered with a dense layer of richly branched, cylindrical isidia up to 1.5 cm long. The isidia are greenish-grey with blackened tips on the upper side and dull brownish on the lower side. No apothecia or conidia have been observed to occur in this species. The medulla does not react with C or K spot tests, but is PD+ (red). It does not fluoresce under UV light. The lichen contains usnic acid and protocetraric acid. [3]

Habitat and distribution

Xanthoparmelia beccae grows on soil and rocks in dusty areas and boulder fields on Saint Helena. It has been recorded from locations including Rupert's Hill, Bryans Rock, The Barn, and Great Stone Top. In some dusty areas it can be the only lichen species present. [3]

Conservation

Because of its restricted distribution, Xanthoparmelia beccae is subject to accidental extinction by trampling, collecting, road development, and local over-grazing. For these reasons, it has been assessed as a vulnerable species on the global Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Melanohalea</i> Genus of lichen

Melanohalea is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. It contains 30 mostly Northern Hemisphere species that grow on bark or on wood. The genus is characterised by the presence of pseudocyphellae, usually on warts or on the tips of isidia, a non-pored epicortex and a medulla containing depsidones or lacking secondary metabolites. Melanohalea was circumscribed in 2004 as a segregate of the morphologically similar genus Melanelia, which was created in 1978 for certain brown Parmelia species. The methods used to estimate the evolutionary history of Melanohalea suggest that its diversification primarily occurred during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs.

<i>Xanthoparmelia</i> Genus of fungi

Xanthoparmelia is a genus of foliose lichens in the family Parmeliaceae. This genus of lichen is commonly found in the United States, as well as Australia, New Zealand and Ecuador.

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Xanthoparmelia mougeotii is a species of foliose lichen belonging to the family Parmeliaceae.

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Relicina colombiana is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in high-elevation páramo of the Eastern Cordillera in Colombia, it was described as new to science in 2011.

<i>Xanthoparmelia conspersa</i> Species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae

Xanthoparmelia conspersa, commonly known as the peppered rock-shield, is a foliose lichen and the type species of genus Xanthoparmelia. It is widely distributed in temperate zones, and has been recorded from Japan, Europe, Africa, North America, and South America.

<i>Xanthoparmelia lineola</i> Species of foliose lichen

Xanthoparmelia lineola, commonly known as the tight rock-shield, is a foliose lichen species in the genus Xanthoparmelia. It is a common species with a temperate distribution. Found in North America and South Africa, it grows on rocks.

Bulbothrix meizospora is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Africa, Asia, and South America, where it grows on tree bark.

Xanthoparmelia serusiauxii is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in Namibia, it was formally described as a new species in 1986 by American lichenologist Mason Hale. The type specimen was collected by Hale from the Laguneberg Mountains, southeast of Cape Cross. There, it is common on dolerite boulders and small, flat pebbles. The specific epithet honours Emmanuël Sérusiaux, who, according to Hale, "was the first lichenologist to collect this unusual lichen in Namibia".

Xanthoparmelia isidiovagans is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae

Xanthoparmelia perezdepazii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in the Canary Islands.

Ramalina geniculatella is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), fruticose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It is found in the remote tropical island of Saint Helena, where it grows on boulders and cliffs. It was formally described as a new species in 2008 by Dutch lichenologist André Aptroot. The type specimen was collected by the author from Prosperous Bay Plain at an elevation of 330 m (1,080 ft); there, it was found growing on basalt. The initially shrub-like, fruticose thallus of the lichen later becomes pendant, reaching lengths of up to 20 cm (8 in), although typically it is smaller, about 7 cm (2.8 in). The branches of the thallus are about 0.5–1.2 mm wide and about 0.2–0.5 mm thick; they are geniculate below the apothecia. The species epithet refers to this characteristic feature. Although the branches are greenish-grey, they are covered with whitish pseudocyphellae, which gives the thallus an overall whitish appearance. Thin-layer chromatography shows that the species contains usnic acid, and sometimes boninic acid and protocetraric acids. The photobiont partner is dispersed in irregular groups throughout the medulla.

Canoparmelia rarotongensis is a species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in Rarotonga, it was formally described as a new species in 2000 by Simone Louwhoff and John Elix. The type specimen was collected by the second author from the Muri Lagoon, where it was found growing on hibiscus along the foreshore. It is named for its type locality. The main physical characteristic that distinguishes it from others in its genus is its conspicuous isidia, which are consistently inflated and branched.

Parmotrema lawreyi is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found on the Galápagos Islands, it was formally described as a new species in 2019 by lichenologists Frank Bungartz and Adriano Spielmann. The type specimen was collected by the first author from the foothills of Media Luna on San Cristóbal Island, where it was found in dry, open woodland growing on the trunk of Bursera graveolens. The species epithet honours the authors' colleague James D. Lawrey, "on the occasion of his 70th birthday".

Parmotrema cactacearum is a rare species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found on the Galápagos Islands, it was formally described as a new species in 2019 by lichenologists Frank Bungartz and Adriano Spielmann. The type specimen was collected from Pinta Island at an altitude of 289 m (948 ft), where it was found growing on an old cactus pad in an open woodland. It is only known from the type specimen. The species epithet refers to its substrate.

Heterodermia fragmentata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) foliose lichen in the family Physciaceae. It occurs in Sri Lanka.

Xanthoparmelia nomosa is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Tasmania, Australia.

Xanthoparmelia somervilleae is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in Tasmania, Australia.

Hypotrachyna constictovexans is a little-known species of foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Known only from a single specimen collected in 1976, it is found in the highlands of Peru. Its thallus can grow over 5 cm wide, featuring long, straight, and separate lobes that are highly convex and tube-like, with a pale grey, slightly shiny upper surface adorned with cylindrical isidia.

Xanthoparmelia alligatensis is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae, described by John Elix in 2006. The species is native to South Australia, specifically found in the Mount Remarkable National Park.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Aptroot, A.; Perez-Ortega, S. (2017). "Xanthoparmelia beccae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  2. "Xanthoparmelia beccae Aptroot". Catalogue of Life . Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Aptroot, André (2008). "Lichens of St Helena and Ascension Island". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 158: 147–171 [167]. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2008.00797.x .