Pyrenula quartzitica is a species of crustose lichen belonging to the family Pyrenulaceae,[1] described as a new species in 2002. Found in southeast Brazil, it is saxicolous, primarily growing on quartzitic and sandstone rock surfaces in forested areas.
| Pyrenula quartzitica | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Eurotiomycetes |
| Order: | Pyrenulales |
| Family: | Pyrenulaceae |
| Genus: | Pyrenula |
| Species: | P. quartzitica
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pyrenula quartzitica Aptroot (2002)
| |
Taxonomy
editDescribed by the Dutch lichenologist André Aptroot in 2002, Pyrenula quarztitica was first identified from specimens he collected five years prior from the Serra do Caraça in Minas Gerais, Brazil. This species is distinguished by its reddish-brown ostioles and its similarity in ascospore characteristics to the genus Pyrgillus. The species epithet quartzitica refers to the rock substrate it grows on.[2]
Description
editThe thallus of Pyrenula quartzitica is crustose, extending up to 10 cm in diameter, with a yellowish-brown colouration, and a somewhat glossy appearance without pseudocyphellae or a visible hypothallus. It hosts sparse Trentepohlia-like green algae and is primarily corticate.[2]
Perithecia (fruiting bodies) are mostly hemispherical, partially enveloped by the thallus, and brown, measuring between 0.6 and 1.0 mm in diameter. The ascomal wall is substantial, lined with angular hyaline (translucent) crystals that react reddish with potassium hydroxide solution. The ostiole at the centre appears conical and reddish-brown.[2]
The hymenium is clear and IKI-negative, lacking any dispersed oil globules. Asci are cylindrical to clavate (club-shaped), measuring about 100–150 by 15–20 µm. Paraphyses are simple, with a few anastomosing above the asci. Ascospores are dark chocolate brown, arranged uniseriately within the ascus, ellipsoid with pointed ends, and show distoseptate division with enhanced pigmentation around the septa.[2]
Habitat and distribution
editPyrenula quarzitica is endemic to the Serra do Caraça in Brazil, where it occupies both shaded and somewhat exposed quartzitic and sandstone substrates within forest remnants. Aptroot called it "the only really saxicolous species of Pyrenula".[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Pyrenula quartzitica Aptroot". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Aptroot, A. (2002). "New and interesting lichens and lichenicolous fungi in Brazil" (PDF). Fungal Diversity. 9 (1): 15–45 [22].