Pyrenocarpous lichens in Goa with five new records to India

The pyrenocarpous lichens are the one which produces perithecial ascocarps. They are one of the prominent groups of lichens in tropical forests. Frequent incidence of pyrenocarpous taxa in lichen biota of Goa prompted us to take up the exclusive study of this group in the State. The study revealed the occurrence of 79 species belonging to 15 genera and seven families. The family Pyrenulaceae had the maximum number of 23 species, while 20 belonged to the family Porinaceae. In comparison to North Goa, South Goa is fairly well explored for lichens representing 71 species from 11 localities. The following five species are reported as new to India — Porina exserta, P. siamensis, Pyrenula dissimulans, P. pyrenastrospora and P. rinodinospora. With the addition of five new records, the Goa State now represents 165 species of lichens, out of which 48% is represented by pyrenocarpous lichens. The present study will be useful for monographic studies on pyrenocarpous lichens and for environmental monitoring studies in the area, as this can be considered as a key indicator species.

Ten new species of corticolous pyrenocarpous lichens from NE Brazil

Ten corticolous pyrenocarpous lichens are newly described from different forest biomes in NE Brazil. All were collected in the past two years in Atlantic rain forest or Caatinga vegetation in Pernambuco or Sergipe. The following species are described: Anisomeridium globosum, Pyrenula abditicarpa, P. albonigra, P. aurantiacorubra, P. celaticarpa, P. cinnabarina, P. inspersicollaris, P. musaespora, P. rubrolateralis, and Thelenella lateralis.

A key to the corticolous microfoliose, foliose and related crustose lichens from Rondônia, Brazil, with the description of four new species

A key is given to the foliose and squamulose lichens known so far from Rondônia, including also corticolous crustose lichens with a chlorococcoid alga. The foliicolous Lecanorales found are also listed. The following four new corticolous Lecanorales are described from Rondônia: Calopadia granulosa with a granular, corticate thallus and ascospores 1 per ascus, 33–38×10·5–13·0 µm; Crustospathula amazonica with irregularly capitate to nearly globose, c. 0·2–0·4 mm diam. soralia on cartilaginous stalks; Flavoparmelia plicata with a thallus containing usnic and protocetraric acids, with laminal, irregular, globose to cylindrical isidia which are often easily abraded and showing the whitish medulla, but not sorediate or postulate; Physcidia striata with ascending squamules, without hypothallus, often with laminal isidia in defined areas towards lobe tips of some, usually sterile lobes, and often with biatorine apothecia with ascospores simple to 1-septate, (6·2–)7·5–10·0×(2·5–)3·0–3·5 µm. In the whole lichen flora of the lowland rainforest region of Rondônia, the following traits can be discerned: foliose lichens amount to only 17 species (2·7% of nearly 600), 33 (5·5%) are squamulose, while the vast majority (91·8%) are crustose. Cyanobacteria are present in only 6 (1%) species. A chlorococcoid alga present in c. 100 (16%), 12 of which (2%) have a myrmecioid alga. The remainder of the species, a staggering 83%, have trentepohlioid alga, including 6 (1%) with Phycopeltis. In neotropical lowland rainforest, the vast majority of the lichens are crustose and contain a trentepohlioid alga, and the Arthoniales, Graphidaceae and pyrenocarpous lichens are the main groups, each accounting for roughly a quarter of the lichen biodiversity.

New pyrenocarpous lichens from NE Argentina

Five new species of corticolous pyrenocarpous lichens are described from tropical and subtropical forests in the Chaco and Misiones provinces in NE Argentina: Aspidothelium submuriforme with globose, grey ascomata and ascospores mostly 7-septate with 0–2 oblique longitudinal septa, 25–28×8–10 µm; Pyrenula inspersoleucotrypa, characterized by a thallus without pseudocyphellae, aggregated ascomata, an inspersed hamathecium, and ascospores of 17–20×6·5–8·0 µm with diamond-shaped lumina; Pyrenula punctoleucotrypa, which has a thallus with pseudocyphellae, aggregated ascomata in a conical pseudostroma, with fused ostioles, not inspersed hamathecium, and ascospores of 10–12×4–5 µm with rounded lumina; Strigula muriconidiata, containing immersed pycnidia with hyaline, densely muriform, ellipsoid conidia, 90–103×32–35 µm; Trypethelium globolucidum, forming sessile pseudostromata with black and whitish parts, an inspersed hamathecium, ascospores 13–19-septate, (65–)83–97×11·5–14·5 µm, lumina rounded to lentiform and containing lichexanthone.

Pyrenocarpous lichens (except Trypetheliaceae) in Rondônia

The following new species of pyrenocarpous lichens are described from Rondônia: Agonimia tenuiloba: corticolous, thallus with minute flabellate lobes developing goniocysts; ascomata smooth, grey, ellipsoidal; ascospores densely muriform, 30–50(–76)×20–35 µm. Anisomeridium lateriticum: saxicolous; conidiomata sessile, pyriform, ostiole with brown and hyaline septate setae; conidia simple to 1-septate, 8–11×2·0–2·5 µm. Anisomeridium triseptatum: corticolous, ascomata with lateral ostioles; ascospores (1–)3-septate, 25–30×7·5–10·0 µm, often with gelatinous appendages. Mycomicrothelia megaspora: ascospores ornamented, 1-septate, (27–)29–35(–40)×8–12 µm, often with a gelatinous layer 6–15 µm thick. Porina linearispora: corticolous; thallus green, shiny; ascomata immersed, 0·2–0·3 mm; ascospores filiform, (7–)9(–13)-septate, 75–90×1·5–2·0 µm. Porina maxispora: corticolous; thallus green, matt; ascomata immersed, 0·5–0·7 mm; ascospores filiform, (17–)23–35-septate, 95–110×4·5–5·5 µm. Porina novemseptatoides: saxicolous; thallus very thin, brown, glossy; ascomata superficial, 0·1–0·2 mm; ascospores fusiform, (7–)9-septate, 21–24×4·5–5·0 µm, with a c. 5 µm thick gelatinous layer. Porina termitophila: terricolous; thallus greyish green; ascomata emergent, 0·15–0·20 mm; ascospores fusiform, 1–3-septate, 13–15×2·5–3·0 µm. Pyrenula bispora: corticolous, thallus whitish, ascomata dispersed; hamathecium inspersed; ascospores 2 per ascus, muriform, 55–75×19–23 µm. Pyrenula leptaleoides: corticolous; thallus green to pale brown; ascomata deeply immersed in bark, with long necks fused in joint ostioles visible as brown dots on the surface; ascospores 23–27×8–11 µm, with rather angular lumina. Pyrenula rhomboidea: corticolous; thallus olive-brown; ascomata single, immersed; ascospores irregularly uniseriate, clavate-rhomboidal, 11–13×3·5–4·0 µm.A key is provided to all species of pyrenocarpous lichens (except Trypetheliaceae) found in Rondônia. Nearly all species are new reports for Rondônia. Aspidothelium glabrum, Pyrenula leucotrypa and P. micheneri are newly reported for South America. The usually foliicolous Strigula nitidula is reported for the first time from bark.The high lichen diversity is explained by the poor soils, supporting an only moderately dense forest where enough light can reach the tree trunks at ground level to support a rich flora of crustose lichens usually confined to the upper trunks.

Aptrootia (Dothideomycetes: Trypetheliaceae), a new genus of pyrenocarpous lichens for Thelenella terricola

The new genus Aptrootia Lücking & Sipman is described for Thelenella terricola, an enigmatic terricolous and muscicolous, pyrenocarpous taxon known from Papua New Guinea and Costa Rica, and the new combination Aptrootia terricola (Aptroot) Lücking, Umaña & Chaves comb. nov. is introduced. Aptrootia is characterized by completely immersed perithecia with brown-black ostiolar region, surrounded by a white, cartilaginous thallus resembling that of Gomphillaceae. The hamathecium is typical of Trypetheliaceae, with thin, anastomosing paraphysoids embedded in a gelatinous matrix, but the dark brown ascospores are otherwise unknown within the family. The only known species was tentatively described in Thelenella, but hamathecium type and molecular data place Aptrootia within Trypetheliaceae.

Anisomeridium calcicolum sp. nov. and further new records of pyrenocarpous lichens from India

Anisomeridium calcicolum Upreti & Nayaka (Monoblastiaceae) from India is described as new to science. Lithothelium hyalosporum (Nyl.) Aptroot, and Polymeridium albocinereum (Krempelh.) R. C. Harris are reported as new records for the Indian lichen flora.