Neoprotoparmelia capitata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) and crustose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. It is found in eastern North America.
| Neoprotoparmelia capitata | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Parmeliaceae |
| Genus: | Neoprotoparmelia |
| Species: | N. capitata
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| Binomial name | |
| Neoprotoparmelia capitata (Lendemer) Garima Singh, Lumbsch & I.Schmitt (2018)
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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Taxonomy
editThe lichen was first formally described by lichenologist James Lendemer in 2008, as a species of Protoparmelia. The type specimen was collected by Richard C. Harris near Archbold Biological Station in Florida, where it was found growing on Carya floridana in scrubland. The specific epithet capitata refers to the characteristic large convex hemispherical soralia.[2] The species was moved to genus Maronina in 2017.[3] In 2018, the taxon was transferred to Neoprotoparmelia, a genus newly circumscribed to contain a group of former Maronina species that had been previously recognized as an independent lineage.[4]
Description
editNeoprotoparmelia capitata has a grey to greyish-brown, shiny and smooth to cracked crustose thallus. It often has a dark prothallus (visible as a line around the thallus margin). Soredia typically measure between 16 and 29 μm in diameter; they tend to clump together to form larger head-like ("capitate") soralia that are 0.8–1.25 mm in diameter, and 0.5–0.8 mm tall. Apothecia are rare, and pycnidia are not present. In its medulla, the lichen contains the secondary compounds alectoronic acid and traces of α-collatolic acid[4]
Habitat and distribution
editNeoprotoparmelia capitata grows on the bark of hardwood trees in regions of the coastal plain of eastern North America. It tends to grows in subtropical areas, and at the time of its original publication, had been recorded from Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Synonymy: Neoprotoparmelia capitata (Lendemer) Garima Singh, Lumbsch & I. Schmitt, in Singh, Aptroot, Rico, Otte, Divakar, Crespo, Cáceres, Lumbsch & Schmitt, MycoKeys 44: 36 (2018)". Species Fungorum. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- ^ a b Lendemer, James C.; Lumbsch, H. Thorsten (2008). "Protoparmelia capitata sp. nov., and P. isidiata Diederich, Aptroot & Sérus., two species of Protoparmelia ( Lecanorales, Ascomycota) from south-eastern North America". The Lichenologist. 40 (4): 329–336. doi:10.1017/s0024282908007810. S2CID 83899471.
- ^ Divakar, Pradeep K.; Crespo, Ana; Kraichak, Ekaphan; Leavitt, Steven D.; Singh, Garima; Schmitt, Imke; Lumbsch, H. Thorsten (2017). "Using a temporal phylogenetic method to harmonize family- and genus-level classification in the largest clade of lichen-forming fungi". Fungal Diversity. 84 (1): 101–117. doi:10.1007/s13225-017-0379-z. S2CID 40674310.
- ^ a b Singh, Garima; Aptroot, André; Rico, Víctor J.; Otte, Jürgen; Divakar, Pradeep K.; Crespo, Ana; Cáceres, Marcela Eugenia da Silva; Lumbsch, H. Thorsten; Schmitt, Imke (2018). "Neoprotoparmelia gen. nov. and Maronina (Lecanorales, Protoparmelioideae): species description and generic delimitation using DNA barcodes and phenotypical characters". MycoKeys (44): 19–50. doi:10.3897/mycokeys.44.29904. PMC 6303283. PMID 30595656.
