Gyalideopsis altamirensis
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| Gyalideopsis altamirensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Graphidales |
| Family: | Gomphillaceae |
| Genus: | Gyalideopsis |
| Species: | G. altamirensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Gyalideopsis altamirensis Lücking & L.Umaña (2006) | |
 Holotype: La Amistad International Park, Costa Rica | |
Gyalideopsis altamirensis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Gomphillaceae,[1] first described in 2006 from specimens collected in Costa Rica as part of the Ticolichen biodiversity inventory project. The pale greenish-grey lichen forms thin, shiny crusts on tree bark in montane rainforest environments, particularly in secondary forests dominated by Cecropia trees, and is known only from three locations in Costa Rica. It reproduces through distinctive brown to purplish-brown disc-shaped structures that produce large, colourless spores, and while specialized reproductive structures called hyphophores have not been observed in this species, it shows morphological similarities to several leaf-dwelling relatives as well as to other bark-dwelling species from which it differs primarily in having lighter-coloured fruiting bodies with more prominent margins.
Gyalideopsis altamirensis was formally described in 2006 by the lichenologists Robert Lücking and Loengrin Umaña. The species epithet altamirensis refers to its type locality, Altamira Station in Costa Rica. The type specimen was collected in the province of Puntarenas, within the Cordillera de Talamanca. It was found in La Amistad International Park, part of the La Amistad Pacífico Conservation Area, at the Altamira Station, about 20 km (12 mi) north of San Vito near Finca Colorado. The collection site was at an elevation of 1,600–1,800 m (5,200–5,900 ft) in the montane rainforest zone. The habitat consisted of secondary forest and open secondary vegetation dominated by Cecropia.[2]
Although specialized reproductive structures called hyphophores have not been observed in this species, it shows morphological similarities to several leaf-dwelling relatives, including G. albopruinosa, G. arvidssonii, G. intermedia, and G. laevithallina. Among species that grow on bark, its closest relatives appear to be G. aequatoriana and G. vainioi, though these differ in having darker apothecia (fruiting bodies) with a less prominent margin.[2]