Astrothelium pseudomegalophthalmum

Astrothelium pseudomegalophthalmum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae.[1] Found in Colombia, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Dutch lichenologist André Aptroot. The type specimen was collected from Araracuara (Amazonas Department) at an altitude of 300 m (980 ft); there, in a savanna forest, it was found growing on smooth tree bark. The lichen has a smooth and somewhat shiny, pale olive-green thallus with a cortex and a thin black prothallus line. The lichen thallus covers areas of up to 7 cm (2.8 in) in diameter, and its presence does not induce the formation of galls in the host plant. No lichen products were detected in collected samples using thin-layer chromatography.[2] The characteristics of the lichen that distinguish it from others in Astrothelium are its solitary to irregularly confluent ascomata, which are erumpent with an exposed upper part.[3] Its ascospores have seven septa and measure 152–166 by 32–37 μm. Its namesake species, A. megalophthalmum, also has large spores with seven septa.[2]

Astrothelium pseudomegalophthalmum
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Dothideomycetes
Order:	Trypetheliales
Family:	Trypetheliaceae
Genus:	Astrothelium
Species:	A. pseudomegalophthalmum
Binomial name
Astrothelium pseudomegalophthalmum Aptroot (2016)