Tephromela
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tephromela | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tephromela atra | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Lecanorales |
| Family: | Tephromelataceae |
| Genus: | Tephromela M.Choisy (1929) |
| Type species | |
| Tephromela atra | |
Tephromela is a genus of lichens in the family Tephromelataceae. There are about 50 species in this widespread genus.[1] The genus was established in 1929 by the French lichenologist Maurice Choisy, who separated these species from the broader genus Lecanora based on their distinctive straight asexual spores and dark violet spore-bearing layers. These rock and bark-dwelling lichens are characterized by their white to pale grey crusty growth and black disc-shaped reproductive structures with purple-tinted interiors.
The genus was circumscribed in 1929 by the French lichenologist Maurice Choisy. He assigned Tephromela atra as the type species. In his original description, Choisy established Tephromela to accommodate species that had previously been classified under Lecanora but had distinctive characteristics that set them apart from the core Lecanora group. Specifically, he recognized that Lecanora atra (originally described by Acharius) represented a distinct evolutionary line within what was then broadly conceived as the family Lecanoraceae. Choisy characterized the new genus by its consistently straight pycnoconidia (asexual spores) and its entirely black-violet hymenium (the spore-bearing layer), features that distinguished it from other Lecanora species. He noted that this species had previously been known as Patellaria tephromelas in earlier literature, reflecting its distinctive dark colouration. The genus name Tephromela itself references this characteristic dark pigmentation.[2]
This taxonomic decision was part of Choisy's broader systematic revision of the Lecanoraceae, in which he argued for subdividing the artificially broad genus Lecanora into smaller, more natural groups based on detailed morphological and reproductive characters. His approach emphasized the taxonomic importance of previously overlooked features like pycnoconidia structure and hymenium coloration in establishing evolutionary relationships within lichen-forming fungi.[2]
