Cryptothecia methylperlatolica
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cryptothecia methylperlatolica | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Arthoniomycetes |
| Order: | Arthoniales |
| Family: | Arthoniaceae |
| Genus: | Cryptothecia |
| Species: | C. methylperlatolica |
| Binomial name | |
| Cryptothecia methylperlatolica Aptroot (2022) | |
Cryptothecia methylperlatolica is a corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichen in the family Arthoniaceae.[1] It is a small crustose lichen that forms whitish-gray patches on tree bark in primary rainforest in western Brazil. It is distinguished by the absence of powdery reproductive structures, by linear spore-producing areas that are slightly raised above the surface, and by the presence of 2-O-methylperlatolic acid. It was formally described in 2022 from material collected in a municipal nature park near Porto Velho in Rondônia State, and it remains known only from Brazil.
Cryptothecia methylperlatolica was described in 2022 by André Aptroot from bark-collected material collected in a municipal nature park near Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brazil, at an elevation of about 100 m (330 ft). The holotype (M.E.S. Cáceres 15215 & A. Aptroot) is deposited in the herbarium of the Instituto de Botânica (ISE). Within Cryptothecia, it is characterized by a whitish-gray thallus that lacks soredia, linear spore-producing areas that are slightly raised above the surface, broadly ellipsoid muriform (multi-chambered) ascospores (45–50 × 27–30 μm), and the presence of 2-O-methylperlatolic acid in the thallus. It was considered close to C. albomaculans, which differs in having a heteromerous thallus and spore-producing areas that are flush with the surface. The specific epithet methylperlatolica refers to 2-O-methylperlatolic acid, the compound detected in the thallus.[2]