Cryptothecia rhizophora
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| Cryptothecia rhizophora | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Arthoniomycetes |
| Order: | Arthoniales |
| Family: | Arthoniaceae |
| Genus: | Cryptothecia |
| Species: | C. rhizophora |
| Binomial name | |
| Cryptothecia rhizophora Aptroot & M.Cáceres (2016) | |
 Holotype: Reserva extrativista Maracá, Brazil | |
Cryptothecia rhizophora is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Arthoniaceae.[1] This lichen was discovered growing on tree bark in the primary rainforest of Brazil's Amapá state, and described as a new species in 2016. It is distinctive in its genus for producing long, branching, root-like structures called rhizomorphs that extend outward from the main thallus.
Cryptothecia rhizophora was described as new to science in 2016 by André Aptroot and Marcela da Silva Cáceres from material collected in northern Brazil (Amapá). The holotype was gathered on tree bark in primary tall forest at about 30 m elevation in the Maracá Extractive Reserve (municipality of Mazagão). The specific epithet refers to the species' abundant rhizomorphs.[2]
In their notes, the authors stressed two characters that set it apart within Cryptothecia: the ascigerous (spore-producing) areas contain lichexanthone (rather than the whole thallus), and the species has distinct, partly pigmented rhizohyphae. Superficially similar rhizomorphs are otherwise only known in Syncesia rhizomorpha, which differs by having apothecia, transversely septate spores, different chemistry, and a brown prothallus.[2]