Astrothelium subendochryseum
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| Astrothelium subendochryseum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Dothideomycetes |
| Order: | Trypetheliales |
| Family: | Trypetheliaceae |
| Genus: | Astrothelium |
| Species: | A. subendochryseum |
| Binomial name | |
| Astrothelium subendochryseum Lücking, M.P.Nelsen & Marcelli (2016) | |
 Type locality: Serra do Caraça, Brazil | |
Astrothelium subendochryseum is a species of crustose lichen-forming fungus in the family Trypetheliaceae.[1] The lichen forms an olive-green crust on tree bark with a distinctively blistered to strongly uneven surface. Its reproductive structures are grouped together in irregular clusters that are partially covered by greenish tissue on the sides while exposing dark gray-brown tops with small black dots. The species occurs in Atlantic Forest regions of Brazil and has also been recorded from Central America, including El Salvador and Costa Rica.
Astrothelium subendochryseum was described as a new species in 2016 by Robert Lücking, Matthew Nelsen, and Marcelo Marcelli. The type was collected in southeastern Brazil (Minas Gerais, Serra do Caraça, Santuário do Caraça) near Cascatinha Waterfall, where it was found on bark in disturbed remnants of gallery forest within Atlantic Forest at about 1,300–1,400 m (4,300–4,600 ft) elevation.[2]
The specific epithet refers to its close relationship with Astrothelium endochryseum. The new species differs from A. endochryseum in lacking pigment in the pseudostromata (aggregated fruiting body structures) and in having the pseudostromata laterally covered by thallus tissue. Although it shows the kind of pseudostromata typical of taxa once placed in the genus Bathelium, it can be told apart by the distinct lateral thallus covering and by the absence of a medullary pigment in the pseudostromata. It also resembles members of the Astrothelium nitidiusculum complex in some anatomical features, but those species lack Bathelium-like pseudostromata and are not considered closely related. An additional specimen has been reported from El Salvador, indicating the species occurs beyond its Brazilian type locality.[2]