Biology:Sticta brevior
| Sticta brevior | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Peltigerales |
| Family: | Peltigeraceae |
| Genus: | Sticta |
| Species: | S. brevior
|
| Binomial name | |
| Sticta brevior B.Moncada & Lücking (2013)
| |
Sticta brevior is a species of lichen-forming fungus in the family Peltigeraceae. It is found in the Colombian Andes. It was described as new to science in 2013 from a specimen collected in Huila. The thallus is foliose (leafy), up to about 5 cm (2.0 in) across, with a pitted to wrinkled upper surface that is pale brown to reddish brown, and bears stalked apothecia (fruiting bodies) with reddish-orange to reddish-brown [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]].
Taxonomy
The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2013 by the lichenologists Bibiana Moncada and Robert Lücking. The type specimen was collected from the Vereda La Candelaria (La Plata, Huila) at an elevation of 2,300 m (7,500 ft).[1]
In a time-calibrated chronogram of the phylogeny of the genus Sticta, Sticta brevior was most closely related to S. isidokunthii and a clade containing S. impressula, S. galowayana, and S. phyllidokunthii.[2] Sticta pseudoimpressula, described as new to science from Bolivia in 2022, is also closely related.[3]
Description
Sticta brevior has an irregular to somewhat palm-shaped thallus up to about 5 cm (2 in) across, with overlapping [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] that are usually 10–25 mm (0.39–0.98 in) wide. The upper surface is pitted to wrinkled, glossy, and pale brown to reddish brown in herbarium material, often with scattered cream-colored patches. The lobe margins bear abundant true [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]], and the lower surface is pale to light brown with a dense, soft [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]]. Vegetative propagules are absent.[1]
Its [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] are abundant, rounded to angular, and usually white to cream-colored, while the apothecia are common and mostly [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]]. These apothecia are carried on distinct stalks and have a reddish-orange to reddish-brown [[Glossary of lichen terms#{{biology:{1}}}|{{Biology:{1}}}]] with a tomentose margin bearing abundant pale trichomes, a feature that remains visible even in mature apothecia except right at the edge of the disc. The ascospores are hyaline, fusiform, and usually have one to three septa, with dimension of 30–40 x 7–8 μm.[1]
Habitat and distribution
Discovered in the Colombian Andes, Sticta brevior typically grows in semi-exposed microsites within subandine to andine forests bordering páramo vegetation at elevations ranging from 2,300 to 3,600 m (7,500 to 11,800 ft). It is predominantly found in the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Occidental regions, spanning subandine to andine, and páramo regions. While it usually grows as an epiphyte, it may occasionally grow on the ground, often close to liverworts of the family Lejeuneaceae, and the genera Frullania and Jubula, as well as Sphagnum mosses. It has been also observed growing near the ground on Blechnum ferns.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Moncada, Bibiana; Lücking, Robert; Coca, Luis Fernando (2013). "Six new apotheciate species of Sticta (lichenized Ascomycota: Lobariaceae) from the Colombian Andes". The Lichenologist 45 (5): 635–656. doi:10.1017/s0024282913000376.
- ↑ Widhelm, Todd J.; Bertoletti, Francesca R.; Asztalos, Matt J.; Mercado-Díaz, Joel A.; Huang, Jen-Pan; Moncada, Bibiana; Lücking, Robert; Magain, Nicolas et al. (2018). "Oligocene origin and drivers of diversification in the genus Sticta (Lobariaceae, Ascomycota)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 126: 58–73. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.04.006. PMID 29656104.
- ↑ Ossowska, Emilia Anna; Moncada, Bibiana; Kukwa, Martin; Flakus, Adam; Rodriguez-Flakus, Pamela; Olszewska, Sandra; Lücking, Robert (2022). "New species of Sticta (lichenised Ascomycota, lobarioid Peltigeraceae) from Bolivia suggest a high level of endemism in the Central Andes". MycoKeys (92): 131–160. doi:10.3897/mycokeys.92.89960. PMID 36761317. https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/bitstream/fub188/37681/1/MC_article_89960_en_1.pdf.
Wikidata ☰ Q67926723 entry
 |  |
