Fissurina astroisidiata
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| Fissurina astroisidiata | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Graphidales |
| Family: | Graphidaceae |
| Genus: | Fissurina |
| Species: | F. astroisidiata |
| Binomial name | |
| Fissurina astroisidiata Herrera-Campos & Lücking (2011) | |
Fissurina astroisidiata is a species of lichen in the family Graphidaceae. Found in Veracruz, Mexico, it was described as new to science in 2011.[1] This lichen was the first member of its genus discovered to produce cylindrical vegetative propagules called isidia, which help it spread vegetatively without sexual reproduction. It forms pale greyish-green crusts on tree bark in shaded rainforest and produces distinctive star-shaped reproductive structures.
Fissurina astroisidiata was described in 2011 by María Herrera-Campos and Robert Lücking from material collected on the upper slopes of San Martin Tuxtla volcano in the Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, Veracruz, Mexico. The specific epithet combines the Latin astrum ('star') with isidiatus ('bearing isidia'), alluding to the lichen's star-shaped (stellate) lirellae and its coarse, cylindrical isidia—the first time true isidia have been recorded in the genus.[2] A second isidiate species has since been discovered and described from China, Fissurina isidiata.[3] Molecular data place F. astroisidiata at the base of Fissurina (in the strict sense, or sensu stricto), close to F. dumastii and F. crassilabra. Morphologically it most closely resembles F. incrustans and F. karnatakensis, which share gaping lirellae with thin, pale labia, but both lack isidia and differ in ascospore size or chemistry.[2]