Melanotopelia
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| Melanotopelia | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Graphidales |
| Family: | Graphidaceae |
| Genus: | Melanotopelia Lumbsch & Mangold (2008) |
| Type species | |
| Melanotopelia toensbergii | |
| Species | |
Melanotopelia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Graphidaceae. It has four species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichens.[1][2] This genus includes species characterised by dark pigmentation in their exciple (a ring of tissue encircling their fruiting bodies), non-amyloid ascospores, and specific secondary metabolites.
The genus was circumscribed in 2008 by the lichenologists H. Thorsten Lumbsch and Armin Mangold, with M. toensbergii assigned as the type species. The name Melanotopelia comes from the Greek prefix melano- (meaning very dark), which refers to the dark pigmentation of the true exciple, and the genus Topelia (family Gyalectaceae), which it superficially resembles.[3] The type was originally described as a member of the genus Topeliopsis toensbergii in 2000.[4]
Melanotopelia was established to address certain morphological and chemical characteristics that distinguished it from other genera within its family. Previous studies on the genus Topeliopsis had revealed notable inconsistencies in its circumscription. Initially described to accommodate species with specific ascomata features and spore characteristics, Topeliopsis was found to be heterogeneous. Some species, such as T. rugosa and T. toensbergii, showed unique traits that set them apart, such as dark pigmented layers in the proper exciple, non-amyloid ascospores, and the presence of depsidones.[3]
Subsequent molecular phylogenetics analyses supported the exclusion of these deviating species from Topeliopsis. The detailed morphological and chemical differences, along with DNA sequence data, demonstrated the need for a distinct genus to house these outliers. Consequently, the new genus Melanotopelia was described.[3]