Mawsonia is a fungal genus in the family Lichinaceae.[1][2] It is a monospecific genus, containing the single species Mawsonia harrissonii, a rare saxicolous, crustose lichen found in Antarctica.
| Mawsonia | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lichinomycetes |
| Order: | Lichinales |
| Family: | Lichinaceae |
| Genus: | Mawsonia C.W.Dodge (1948) |
| Species: | M. harrissonii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Mawsonia harrissonii C.W.Dodge (1948)
| |
Taxonomy
editBoth the genus and species were described by the American lichenologist Carroll William Dodge in 1948.[3] The type specimen was collected from Possession Rocks on the Queen Mary Coast. The species epithet honours the collector of the type, the British naturalist Charles Turnbull Harrisson, who was part of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911–1914) led by Sir Douglas Mawson. It is only known to occur at this location.[4] As of 2016, no molecular sequence data are available for this little-known species.[5]
Description
editThe lichen has a fruticulose thallus, that is, smaller than a regular fruticose (bushy) thallus. It is black and prostrate, comprising dark, radiating dichotomous branches up to 75 μm in diameter. The photobiont partner is from the green algal genus Trebouxia, with cells measuring 7–8 μm in diameter. Ascospores produced by the lichen are broadly ellipsoid in shape, and measure 8–9 by 5.5–6 μm. They are polaribilocular,[4] meaning they are divided into two components (locules) separated by a central septum with a perforation.
References
edit- ^ "Mawsonia". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
- ^ Wijayawardene, N.N.; Hyde, K.D.; Dai, D.Q.; Sánchez-García, M.; Goto, B.T.; Saxena, R.K.; et al. (2022). "Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa – 2021". Mycosphere. 13 (1): 53–453 [180]. doi:10.5943/mycosphere/13/1/2. hdl:1854/LU-8754813.
- ^ Dodge, C.W. (1948). "Lichens and lichen parasites". British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition Scientific Reports. 7: 236.
- ^ a b Dodge, Carroll W. (1973). Lichen Flora of the Antarctic Continent and Adjacent Islands. Canaan, New Hampshire: Phoenix Publishing. p. 287. ISBN 978-0914016014.
- ^ Lücking, Robert; Hodkinson, Brendan P.; Leavitt, Steven D. (2017). "The 2016 classification of lichenized fungi in the Ascomycota and Basidiomycota–Approaching one thousand genera". The Bryologist. 119 (4): 361–416. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-119.4.361. JSTOR 44250015.