Mycoblastus
Genus of lichen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mycoblastus is a genus of crustose lichens in the family Tephromelataceae.[2] Members of the genus are commonly called blood lichens.[3][4]
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| Mycoblastus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Closeup of the lichen Mycoblastus sanguinarioides; scale bar is 1 mm | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Tephromelataceae |
| Genus: | Mycoblastus Norman (1852) |
| Type species | |
| Mycoblastus sanguinarius (L.) Norman (1926) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
Taxonomy
The genus was circumscribed in 1852 by Johannes Musaeus Norman, who selected the widespread Mycoblastus sanguinarius as the type species.[5] This species was one of many introduced by Carl Linnaeus in his influential 1753 work Species Plantarum, as Lichen sanguinarius.[6] In North America this species is colloquially known as the "bloody-heart lichen".[7]
In 1984 Josef Hafellner created the family Mycoblastaceae to contain this genus, but this family has since been placed in synonymy with the Tephromelataceae.[8]
Description
Mycoblastus species produce a grayish-white or greenish-gray crustose thallus that contains a green algal photobiont from the genus Trebouxia. The apothecia are typically large, hemmispherical, shiny black or dark pigmented, and lack a margin. There are highly branched and anastomosing paraphyses that form a network around the asci. The asci are lecanoralean (meaning an apothecium containing algae at least below the hypothecium and usually having a distinct amphithecium that often also contains algae) that mostly contain one or two, colorless, thick-walled ascospores.[7]
Species
As of April 2021, Species Fungorum accepts 14 species of Mycoblastus:[9]
- Mycoblastus affinis (Schaer.) T.Schauer (1964) – temperate Northern Hemisphere
- Mycoblastus alpinus (Fr.) Th.Fr. ex Hellb. (1885) – temperate Northern Hemisphere
- Mycoblastus bryophilus Imshaug ex Kantvilas (2009)[10] – Campbell Island; Tasmania
- Mycoblastus caesius (Coppins & P.James) Tønsberg (1992) – temperate oceanic areas of the Northern Hemisphere
- Mycoblastus campbellianus (Nyl.) Zahlbr. (1926) – New Zealand; Tasmania; Campbell Island; Macquarie Island; Australia; Tierra del Fuego; Chile
- Mycoblastus coniophorus (Elix & A.W.Archer) Kantvilas & Elix (2009)[10] – Chile; Juan Fernandez; Auckland Island; Macquarie Island; Prince Edward Island; Tasmania; Australia
- Mycoblastus disporus (C.Knight) Kantvilas (2009)[10] – Tasmania; New Zealand
- Mycoblastus kalioruber Kantvilas (2009)[10] – Tasmania
- Mycoblastus leprarioides Kantvilas & Elix (2009)[10] – Australia
- Mycoblastus oreotropicanus Kantvilas (2016)[11] – Papua New Guinea
- Mycoblastus physodalicus Kantvilas (2016)[11] – Queensland, Australia
- Mycoblastus sanguinarioides Kantvilas (2009)[10] – Tasmania; Australia
- Mycoblastus sanguinarius (L.) Norman (1926) – temperate Northern Hemisphere
- Mycoblastus sinensis Kantvilas (2011)[12] – China
The species once known as Mycoblastus fucatus was transferred into a new genus, Violella, circumscribed in 2011 to contain it and other similar species with Biatora-type asci and unusual pigmentation in the hymenium.[13]