Fellhanera borbonica
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Fellhanera borbonica | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Ectolechiaceae |
| Genus: | Fellhanera |
| Species: | F. borbonica |
| Binomial name | |
| Fellhanera borbonica Sérus., van den Boom & Brand (2011) | |
 | |
Fellhanera borbonica is a rare species of lichen-forming fungus in the family Ectolechiaceae. Described in 2011 from a single specimen collected in the montane rainforests of Réunion, this lichen is distinctive for being the first member of its genus to produce ascospores with a complex internal structure divided by multiple walls. The species forms inconspicuous grey-green crusts on shaded volcanic rock and produces small black fruiting bodies with a violet tinge when fresh. It is known only from its original discovery site at about 1,500 metres elevation in the humid "Bois de Couleur des Hauts" forest.
Fellhanera borbonica was described in 2011 by Emmanuël Sérusiaux, van den Boom and Brand on the basis of a single gathering from the montane "Bois de Couleur des Hauts" forest on Réunion. The new species expands the concept of the mainly tropical, crust-forming genus Fellhanera (family Ectolechiaceae), which until then had contained only taxa with thin-walled, single-septate spores. F. borbonica is the first member of the genus to develop truly sub-muriform to muriform ascospores—spores divided by both cross-walls and one or two longitudinal walls—and to produce biclavate (club-shaped at both ends) asexual conidia. These characters set it apart from morphologically similar species such as F. elliottii and F. paradoxa, whose spores are longer and whose conidia are narrowly bacillar or pear-shaped. The epithet borbonica recalls Île Bourbon, the historical name of Réunion.[1]