Lithothelium immersum
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| Lithothelium immersum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Eurotiomycetes |
| Order: | Pyrenulales |
| Family: | Pyrenulaceae |
| Genus: | Lithothelium |
| Species: | L. immersum |
| Binomial name | |
| Lithothelium immersum Aptroot & M.Cáceres (2015) | |
Lithothelium immersum is a species of lichen in the family Pyrenulaceae.[1] This bark-dwelling lichen was scientifically described in 2015 from specimens collected in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil. It has tiny, flask-shaped fruiting bodies that are completely buried beneath the thallus and often fused together in small groups. The species grows on smooth tree bark in lowland tropical rainforests and is known only from the Brazilian Amazon region.
Lithothelium immersum was described as new to science by André Aptroot and Marcela Cáceres in a molecular study of the family Pyrenulaceae. The holotype was collected by the authors from lowland primary rainforest on the Rondônia/Amazonas border of Brazil. In the study's multigene phylogeny, L. immersum falls in the strongly supported "Group 2" of Pyrenulaceae, clustering with species of Pyrenula and Pyrgillus; the authors also noted that Lithothelium as then circumscribed was not monophyletic, with species occurring in both of their main clades and nested within Pyrenula. They did not propose generic changes pending broader sampling.[2]