Acanthothecis submuriformis
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| Acanthothecis submuriformis | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Graphidales |
| Family: | Graphidaceae |
| Genus: | Acanthothecis |
| Species: | A. submuriformis |
| Binomial name | |
| Acanthothecis submuriformis | |
Acanthothecis submuriformis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Graphidaceae.[1] Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2022 by André Aptroot, Robert Lücking, and Marcela Eugenia da Silva M.Cáceres. The type specimen was collected from the Parque Natural Municipal (Porto Velho, Rondônia); there the lichen was found growing on tree bark in primary rainforest.
It has a smooth, ochraceous white thallus lacking a cortex and lacking a prothallus. Its asci are 8-spored, and its ascospores are hyaline, measuring 29–31 by 6–8 μm. The specific epithet refers to the submuriform (somewhat chambered) spores; all spores have between seven and nine transverse septa, but of the eifht spores in the ascus, only about two have a longitudinal septum.[2]
Acanthothecis submuriformis contains lichexanthone, a lichen product that causes the thallus and ascomata margins to fluoresce yellow when lit with a long-wavelength UV light. This species and Acanthothecis tetraphora are the only species in genus Acanthothecis known to produce lichexanthone.[2]