Search

As part of an ongoing inventory of the lichenized mycota of the Caxiuanã National Forest, at Ferreira Penna Research Station in the Brazilian Amazon, two species of lichenized fungi are described as new and four new combinations are introduced: Ampliotrema megalostoma (Müll. Arg.) M. Cáceres & Lücking comb. nov., Graphis brachylirellata M. Cáceres & Lücking sp. nov., Malmidea leucogranifera M. Cáceres & Lücking sp. nov., Ocellularia conformalis (Kremp.) M. Cáceres & Lücking comb. nov., Redingeria microspora (Zahlbr.) M. Cáceres & Lücking comb. nov., and Sarcographa megistocarpa (Leight.) M. Cáceres & Lücking comb. nov. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied ascospore dispersal and ontogeny in several species of Trypetheliaceae and one species of Graphidaceae with megalosporous (very large) ascospores, including Aptrootia terricola (Aptroot) Lücking, Umaña & Chaves, Architrypethelium nitens (Fée) Aptroot, A. seminudum (Mont.) Aptroot, Astrothelium diplocarpoides Müll. Arg., Laurera gigantospora (Müll. Arg.) Zahlbr., and Ocellularia subpraestans Hale. Although mature ascospores are very different among species of Trypetheliaceae, all species studied share plesiomorphic ontogenetic features such as the formation of a single central euseptum and subsequent development of a variable number of transverse distosepta with diamond-shaped lumina (astrothelioid ascospore type). Even the dark brown, richly muriform ascospores of Aptrootia terricola go through an astrothelioid stage. This suggests that ascospore types may be more closely related than suggested by their mature morphology, and could explain why related taxa can develop markedly different ascospore types. We discuss the implications for systematic classification of Trypetheliaceae in the light of recent molecular studies, and also speculate about the ecological importance of large ascospores, especially with muriform septation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the restudy describing a new lichen specie, Medusulina Chilena C. W. Dodge, which is not related to Arthoniales but belongs in Graphidaceae. It says that the name for the Chilean species was combined in Graphis as G. petraea. It mentions that the type material of Opegrapha Petraea and Medusulina chilean which is best placed in Carbacanthographis.