Astrothelium pseudomegalophthalmum
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| Astrothelium pseudomegalophthalmum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Dothideomycetes |
| Order: | Trypetheliales |
| Family: | Trypetheliaceae |
| Genus: | Astrothelium |
| Species: | A. pseudomegalophthalmum |
| Binomial name | |
| Astrothelium pseudomegalophthalmum Aptroot (2016) | |
Astrothelium pseudomegalophthalmum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae.[1] Found in Colombia, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Dutch lichenologist André Aptroot. The type specimen was collected from Araracuara (Amazonas Department) at an altitude of 300 m (980 ft); there, in a savanna forest, it was found growing on smooth tree bark. The lichen has a smooth and somewhat shiny, pale olive-green thallus with a cortex and a thin black prothallus line. The lichen thallus covers areas of up to 7 cm (2.8 in) in diameter, and its presence does not induce the formation of galls in the host plant. No lichen products were detected in collected samples using thin-layer chromatography.[2] The characteristics of the lichen that distinguish it from others in Astrothelium are its solitary to irregularly confluent ascomata, which are erumpent with an exposed upper part.[3] Its ascospores have seven septa and measure 152–166 by 32–37 μm. Its namesake species, A. megalophthalmum, also has large spores with seven septa.[2]