Allographa pruinodisca

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Allographa pruinodisca
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Graphidales
Family: Graphidaceae
Genus: Allographa
Species:
A. pruinodisca
Binomial name
Allographa pruinodisca
Aptroot (2022)

Allographa pruinodisca is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Graphidaceae.[1] It occurs in Brazil.

Taxonomy[edit]

Allographa pruinodisca was formally described by the Dutch lichenologist André Aptroot. It was identified as a new species as part of a significant biodiversity assessment in a compact region of the Amazon rainforest. The species name, pruinodisca, is derived from the Latin words for "frosty" or "pruinose" (pruinosus) and "disc" (discus), referring to the distinctive pruinose (frosty-appearing) disc of its lirellae (long, slit-like reproductive structures).[2]

Description[edit]

The thallus of Allographa pruinodisca is crustose, continuous, and adheres closely to the surface of the tree bark. It has a dull, dirty pinkish-white appearance, extending up to 7 cm (2.8 in) in diameter and reaching a thickness of up to 0.1 mm. The photobiont, or photosynthetic partner, is trentepohlioid, a type of green algae.[2]

The species is recognised for its "striatula-morph" lirellae (fruiting bodies), which are linear yet wavy and often branched. These reproductive structures are up to 4 mm long and about 0.4–0.5 mm wide, with a nearly closed, thinly white pruinose disc. The excipulum (the outer layer surrounding the ascoma) is fully carbonised.[2]

Ascospores are hyaline (transparent), with 17–21 septa, measuring 80–90 by 9–12 μm, and arranged four per ascus. They are notable for their violet reaction to iodine (IKI+). Chemical analysis reveals no secondary metabolites in the thallus, which does not react to standard lichen spot tests (UV, C, K, KC, and P).[2]

Habitat and distribution[edit]

Endemic to the primary rainforests of Mato Grosso, Brazil, Allographa pruinodisca inhabits tree bark.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Allographa pruinodisca Aptroot". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Aptroot, André; de Souza, Maria Fernanda; dos Santos, Lidiane Alves; Junior, Isaias Oliveira; Barbosa, Bruno Micael Cardoso; da Silva, Marcela Eugenia Cáceres (2022). "New species of lichenized fungi from Brazil, with a record report of 492 species in a small area of the Amazon Forest". The Bryologist. 125 (3): 435–467. doi:10.1639/0007-2745-125.3.433.