Astrothelium lucidostromum
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| Astrothelium lucidostromum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Dothideomycetes |
| Order: | Trypetheliales |
| Family: | Trypetheliaceae |
| Genus: | Astrothelium |
| Species: | A. lucidostromum |
| Binomial name | |
| Astrothelium lucidostromum Aptroot (2016) | |
Astrothelium lucidostromum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae.[1] Found in Guyana, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Dutch lichenologist André Aptroot. The type specimen was collected by Harrie Sipman about 45 km (28 miles) south of Aishalton (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) at an altitude of 230 m (750 ft); there, it was found in a savanna forest growing on smooth tree bark.
The lichen has a smooth and somewhat shiny, pale yellowish-grey thallus with a cortex but lacking a prothallus, which covers areas of up to 7 cm (2.8 in) in diameter. The presence of the lichen does not induce the formation of galls in the host plant. The pseudostromata contains lichexanthone, a lichen product that causes that structure to fluoresce when lit with a long-wavelength UV light.[2]
The main characteristics of the lichen distinguishing it from others in Astrothelium are the UV+ pseudostroma; the fused ascomata; and the immersed pseudostroma that have a white cover (contrasting with the thallus colour).[3] Astrothelium eustomuralis is a similar species, but in that species, lichexanthone only occurs in the ostiole, not the entire pseudostroma.[2]