Peltigera seneca

Peltigera seneca
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Lecanoromycetes
Order:	Peltigerales
Family:	Peltigeraceae
Genus:	Peltigera
Species:	P. seneca
Binomial name
Peltigera seneca Magain, Miądl. & Sérus. (2016)

Peltigera seneca is a rare species of foliose lichen in the family Peltigeraceae. Native to eastern North America, it was first identified in Pennsylvania's Tioga State Forest, where it grows on humus and mossy rocks. It is similar to the Peltigera polydactylon, but with distinct genetic, geographic, and chemical characteristics. P. seneca is characterized by its small thalli with narrow lobes and a pale zone on margins of its lower thallus surface.

Taxonomy

The lichen was formally described as a new species in 2016 by lichenologists Nicolas Magain, Jolanta Miądlikowska and Emmanuël Sérusiaux. The species epithet seneca honors the Seneca people, the indigenous people who once inhabited the area where the type specimen was collected in Tioga State Forest, Pennsylvania. The lichen was first scientifically collected in May 2009, at an elevation of approximately 580 m (1,900 ft).

Description

Peltigera seneca forms rounded patches up to 5 cm (2.0 in) in diameter, with lobes measuring 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) long and 0.4–0.5 cm (0.16–0.20 in) wide. The upper surface is smooth, shiny, and greenish-beige to brownish when dry, turning grey to dark grey when wet. The lower surface features a dense network of pale brown to white, regular elliptical interstices and slightly raised veins that become pale and less visible at the margins. The lichen contains Nostoc phylogroup V as its cyanobiont and has a secondary chemistry that includes an unidentified terpenoid; it also contains several known lichen products: tenuiorin, methyl gyrophorate, peltidactylin, dolichorhizin, and zeorin.

Habitat and Distribution

Peltigera seneca is found in temperate, forested, and shady areas with high humidity, typically growing on humus and mossy rocks. Its distribution is rare and limited to eastern North America, specifically in Canada (Nova Scotia) and the United States (Pennsylvania and North Carolina). At the time of publication (2016), the lichen had only been identified in three localities.