Biology:Gloeoheppia polyspora
| Gloeoheppia polyspora | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Missing taxonomy template (fix): | Gloeoheppia |
| Species: | Template:Taxonomy/GloeoheppiaG. polyspora
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| Binomial name | |
| Template:Taxonomy/GloeoheppiaGloeoheppia polyspora Henssen (1995)
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Gloeoheppia polyspora is a species of lichen-forming fungus in the family Lichinaceae. It forms dark olive, cushion-like patches of small scales on rock in arid shrubland. The species is distinguished from related lichens by its asci, which typically contain 16 ascospores rather than the usual 8. It occurs in Mexico, the southwestern United States, and Argentina.
Taxonomy
Gloeoheppia polyspora is a lichen-forming fungus that Aino Henssen described as a new species in 1995. In her [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]], Henssen distinguished it from the similar Gloeoheppia turgida mainly by its mostly 16-spored asci (spore-producing sacs).[1] In a regional key for the southwestern United States, it is treated as a crustose, rock-dwelling species with polysporous asci and a hymenium that is usually not divided.[2]
The type collection is from Mexico (Oaxaca, near Zapotitlán, along the highway from Huajuapan de León to Tehuacán), gathered from limestone outcrops in xerophytic scrub in September 1982. The species epithet polyspora refers to the "many-spored" asci typical of this lichen.[1]
Description
The thallus (lichen body) is made of densely packed [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] that can become [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]], forming dark olive, cushiony ([[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]]) patches with a smooth surface that may be slightly [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]]. Individual squamules reach about 3 mm across and 1.5 mm thick, and the peltate parts tend to have an [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] margin; attachment is by a short rhizoidal strand up to about 1 mm long. In cross-section, the thallus is about 90–240 μm thick.[1]
The apothecia (fruiting bodies) are [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] and up to about 0.5 mm wide, with a brown, urn-shaped ([[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]]) apothecia with a brown disk and a [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] up to 140 μm thick. The hymenium is non-amyloid (it does not turn blue in iodine) and 120–160 μm tall, while the [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] is 10–35 μm tall and stains blue in iodine (I+ blue). The [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] is weakly developed (about 10–25 μm thick), and the paraphyses have slightly thickened tips. Asci are cylindrical (about 70–90 × 6–9.5 μm) and usually 16-spored, though asci with 8 or fewer spores also occur. The ascospores are about 6–8.5(–12) × 4.5–6 μm (reported as immature in the asci). Pycnidia were observed; they are about 130–145 μm broad and 155–215 μm tall, producing conidia about 1.5–2 × 1 μm.[1]
Habitat and distribution
Gloeoheppia polyspora was originally reported from Mexico on calcareous rock in xerophytic scrub,[1] but it has also been recorded from the southwestern United States; Schultz reported it from Maricopa County, Arizona on a slightly sloped, relatively shaded granite rock surface near Canyon Lake along the Apache Trail.[2] It has also been recorded from Argentina,[3] and in Mendoza, is a member of the biocrust lichen community there.[4] At the time of its description, Henssen noted that G. polyspora was the only New World species of Gloeoheppia, then known only from Mexico, whereas the other species were reported from Mediterranean, Macaronesian, and Saharo-Arabian regions.[1]
A further specimen from Baja California Sur (on volcanic rock) was mentioned with some hesitation because only eight-spored asci were seen in the limited material; the few mostly sterile squamules were found growing together with Pseudopeltula heppioides.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Henssen, Aino (1995). "The new lichen family Gloeoheppiaceae and its genera Gloeoheppia, Pseudopeltula and Gudelia (Lichinales)". The Lichenologist 27 (4): 261–290. doi:10.1006/lich.1995.0025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Schultz, Matthias (2007). "On the identity of Anema dodgei, Psorotichia segregata and Psorotichia squamulosa, three misunderstood cyanolichens from the southwestern United States". The Bryologist 110 (2): 286–294. doi:10.1639/0007-2745(2007)110[286:OTIOAD2.0.CO;2]. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Matthias-Schultz/publication/232665928.
- ↑ García, Renato A.; Filippini, Edith R.; Díaz Dominguez, Raúl (2025). "Diversity and distribution of lichen taxa in Argentina". Darwiniana, nueva serie 13 (2): 308–347. doi:10.14522/darwiniana.2025.132.1262.
- ↑ Filippini, Edith R.; Díaz Dominguez, Raúl E.; García, Renato A.; Gallinger, Micaela; Mlewski, E. Cecilia (2024). "What do we know about biocrust lichens in Argentina? A comprehensive review and new records". Darwiniana, nueva serie 12 (2): 220–236. doi:10.14522/darwiniana.2024.122.1229.
Wikidata ☰ Q10505650 entry
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