Astrothelium quintannulare
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| Astrothelium quintannulare | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Dothideomycetes |
| Order: | Trypetheliales |
| Family: | Trypetheliaceae |
| Genus: | Astrothelium |
| Species: | A. quintannulare |
| Binomial name | |
| Astrothelium quintannulare Aptroot (2022) | |
Astrothelium quintannulare is a corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae.[1] Found only in a small area of mountainous Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil, this species is distinguished by the white rings that encircle the tiny openings (ostioles) on its fruiting bodies. It produces ascospores divided into five segments, a characteristic that distinguishes it from its close relative A. annulare, which has three-segmented spores.
Astrothelium quintannulare was described in 2022 by André Aptroot from material collected on tree bark in montane rainforest at Santuário do Caraça, Minas Gerais, Brazil, at an elevation of 1,200 to 1,400 m (3,900 to 4,600 ft). The type specimen (Aptroot 51906 & L.A. dos Santos) is deposited in the herbarium of the Instituto de Botânica (ISE), with an isotype (duplicate) in the herbarium of the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (CGMS). The species was segregated from the morphologically similar Astrothelium annulare: both have immersed, globose ascomata with apical ostioles surrounded by a small whitish ring, but A. annulare has 3-septate ascospores, whereas A. quintannulare has consistently 5-septate ascospores that differ in size. No lichen substances were detected by thin-layer chromatography, and the hamathecium is clear rather than inspersed, characters that further support its recognition as a distinct species.[2]