Pyrenula sanguineostiolata
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| Pyrenula sanguineostiolata | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Eurotiomycetes |
| Order: | Pyrenulales |
| Family: | Pyrenulaceae |
| Genus: | Pyrenula |
| Species: | P. sanguineostiolata |
| Binomial name | |
| Pyrenula sanguineostiolata Aptroot & Merc.-Díaz (2018) | |
 | |
Pyrenula sanguineostiolata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Pyrenulaceae.[1] Found in Puerto Rico, it was formally described as a new species in 2018 by André Aptroot and Joel Alejandro Mercado Diaz.
Pyrenula sanguineostiolata was formally described in 2018 by André Aptroot and Joel Mercado-Díaz, based on collections from Puerto Rico. It is taxonomically remarkable for having a vivid red ostiole, a rare feature within the genus. While other Pyrenula species may have pigmented tissues, P. sanguineostiolata is the first known to combine a brightly red ostiole with deeply immersed ascomata.[2]
Description
This corticolous crustose lichen forms a thin, continuous thallus up to 0.1 mm thick. The thallus is smooth and olivaceous green, lacking pseudocyphellae or pockets of crystals. Its photobiont partner is a green alga of the genus Trentepohlia.[2]
The ascomata are perithecioid—flask-like fruiting structures that are simple and scattered. They are pyriform (pear-shaped), deeply immersed in the bark tissue, and measure 0.3–0.5 mm in diameter. Only the ostioles are visible from above; these are strikingly bright red and about 0.1 mm wide. The ascomatal wall is evenly carbonised, about 40 μm thick, and lacks any crystalline inclusions.[2]
Internally, the hamathecium (the network of sterile filaments within the ascoma) is hyaline (transparent) and uninspersed. The asci are club-shaped and contain eight ascospores arranged irregularly. Ascospores are brown, 3-septate, and broadly fusiform (spindle-shaped) with pointed ends. They measure 25–28 × 9–12 μm. The internal lumina are rounded to diamond-shaped, sometimes irregularly arranged, with terminal lumina distinctly separated from the outer spore wall by a layer of endospore. No asexual reproductive structures were observed.[2]
Chemically, the red ostiolar pigment is an anthraquinone that reacts positively to both ultraviolet light (UV+ red) and potassium hydroxide (KOH+ dark purple, nearly black), indicating a distinctive compound not commonly found in the genus.[2]