Biology:Involucropyrenium
Involucropyrenium is a genus of lichens in the family Verrucariaceae. It has 10 species. Species in this genus are characterised by their minute, scale-like growth form and distinctive reproductive structures capped with dark sheaths. Most of the ten recognised species were described relatively recently, with several new species added as recently as 2021.
Taxonomy
The genus was circumscribed by the Austrian lichenologist Othmar Breuss in 1996, with Involucropyrenium waltheri assigned as the type species.[1]
Description
Involucropyrenium species have a minute but robust body (thallus) that consists of tiny, overlapping [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]]—scale-like lobes—which in some taxa coalesce into a thin crust. These squamules are anchored to rock or bark by a mesh of colourless to brown, root-like fungal threads (rhizoidal hyphae). The photosynthetic partner ([[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]]) is a unicellular green alga of the [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] type. An upper [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] only 10–30 micrometres (μm) thick overlies the [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]]; it is uneven, poorly separated from the tissue beneath, and built from small, polygonal cells 5–8 μm across. A distinct lower cortex is absent, so the hyphae merge directly into the [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]].[2]
Reproduction takes place in perithecia—flask-shaped fruiting bodies that push up between the squamules. Each perithecium is capped by an [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]], a dark sheath that may cover just the apex, half-wrap the wall, or surround it entirely. The perithecial wall ([[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]]) comprises elongated cells arranged parallel to the surface; it is often darkened around the ostiole—the pore through which spores exit—while the lower portion ranges from pale to blackish. Only short ostiolar threads ([[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]]) occupy the cavity; the interascal filaments seen in many lichens are lacking. The spore sacs (asci) are club-shaped, thin-walled, non-amyloid (they do not stain blue in iodine), and contain eight colourless, single-celled ascospores arranged in two rows. The spores are broadly ellipsoidal to ovoid.[2]
No specialised asexual structures (conidiomata) have been observed, and thin-layer chromatography has yet to detect any secondary metabolites.[2]
Species
As of June 2025[update], Species Fungorum (in the Catalogue of Life) accepts 10 species of Involucropyrenium:[3]
- Involucropyrenium altimontanum Breuss & Türk (2021)[4]
- Involucropyrenium breussii A.B.Gromakova & S.Y.Kondr. (2017)[5]
- Involucropyrenium llimonae (Etayo, Nav.-Ros. & Breuss) Breuss (2004)
- Involucropyrenium nuriense (Nav.-Ros. & Breuss) Breuss (2004)
- Involucropyrenium pusillum Breuss & Türk (2004)[6]
- Involucropyrenium romeanum (B.de Lesd.) Breuss (2016)
- Involucropyrenium sbarbaronis (Servít) Breuss (1996)
- Involucropyrenium terrigenum (Zschacke) Breuss (1996)
- Involucropyrenium tremniacense (A.Massal.) Breuss (1996)
- Involucropyrenium waltheri (Kremp.) Breuss (1996)
References
- ↑ Breuss, O. (1996). "Ein verfeinertes Gliederungskonzept für Catapyrenium (lichenisierte Ascomyceten, Verrucariaceae)" (in de). Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums Wien 98(Suppl.): 35–50.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Orange, A.; Cannon, P.; Prieto, M.; Coppins, B.; Sanderson, N.; Simkin, J. (2023). Verrucariales: Verrucariaceae, including the genera Agonimia, Atla, Bagliettoa, Catapyrenium, Dermatocarpon, Endocarpon, Henrica, Heteroplacidium, Hydropunctaria, Involucropyrenium, Merismatium, Nesothele, Normandina, Parabagliettoa, Placidopsis, Placidium, Placopyrenium, Polyblastia, Psoroglaena, Sporodictyon, Staurothele, Thelidium, Trimmatothele, Verrucaria, Verrucula, Verruculopsis and Wahlenbergiella. Revisions of British and Irish Lichens. 31. British Lichen Society. pp. 38–39. https://britishlichensociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/Verrucariaceae_1.pdf.
- ↑ "Involucropyrenium". Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. https://www.catalogueoflife.org/data/taxon/54P6.
- ↑ Breuss, O.; Türk, R. (2021). "Involucropyrenium altimontanum (Verrucariaceae) – eine neue Flechtenart aus den Hohen Tauern (Österreich)" (in de). Austrian Journal of Mycology 29: 171–175.
- ↑ Gromakova, A.B.; Kondratyuk, S.Y. (2017). "Involucropyrenium breussii (Verrucariaceae, lichen-forming Ascomycota), a new lichen species from chalk soil of Eastern Ukrainian steppes". Acta Botanica Hungarica 59 (3–4): 335–342. doi:10.1556/034.59.2017.3-4.4. http://real.mtak.hu/67243/1/034.59.2017.3-4.4.pdf.
- ↑ Breuss, O.; Türk, R. (2004). "Involucropyrenium pusillum (Verrucariaceae), eine neue Flechtenart aus Oberösterreich". Beiträge zur Naturkunde Oberösterreichs 13: 213–216.
Wikidata ☰ Q10536438 entry
 |  |
