Astrothelium octoseptatum
Astrothelium octoseptatum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by André Aptroot and Marcela Cáceres. The type specimen was collected by the authors in the Parque Natural Municipal de Porto Velho (Porto Velho, Rondônia), in a low-altitude rainforest. The lichen has a smooth and somewhat shiny, pale greenish-grey thallus that lacks a prothallus and covers areas of up to 7 cm (2.8 in) in diameter. The ascomata are pear-shaped (pyriform) and typically occur in groups of two to five, usually immersed in the bark tissue. The lichen contains lichexanthone, a substance that causes the surface of the pseudostroma to glow yellow when lit with a high-wavelength UV light. The species epithet octoseptatum refers to the ascospores, which usually have eight septa that divide the spore into distinct compartments.[1]
Astrothelium octoseptatum | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Fungi |
Division: | Ascomycota |
Class: | Dothideomycetes |
Order: | Trypetheliales |
Family: | Trypetheliaceae |
Genus: | Astrothelium |
Species: | A. octoseptatum |
Binomial name | |
Astrothelium octoseptatum Aptroot & M.Cáceres (2016) | |
References
- Aptroot, André; Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia da Silva (2016). "New Trypetheliaceae from the Amazon basin in Rondônia (Brazil), the centre of diversity of the genus Astrothelium". The Lichenologist. 48 (6): 693–712. doi:10.1017/s0024282915000584. S2CID 89013757.