Calathaspis
genus of fungi
Calathaspis is a fungal genus in the family Cladoniaceae. A monotypic genus, Calathaspis contains the single species Calathaspis devexa, which is found in Papua New Guinea in middle- and high-elevation forests at altitudes ranging from 2,000–4,000 metres (6,600–13,100 ft).
Taxonomy
The genus was introduced as new by I. M. Lamb (later Elke Mackenzie) and William Alfred Weber with C. devexa as the type and only known species. The genus name, which combines the Greek κάλαθος ('vase-shaped vessel') and ἀσπίς ('shield'), refers to the shape of the apothecia. The species epithet devexa, from the Latin devexus ("sloping downward"), refers to the arrangement of the thalline laciniae. The authors argued for inclusion in the family Cladoniaceae after studying how the fruiting bodies develop: the reproductive (generative) tissues are formed first, then briefly sheathed by vegetative tissues, and the mature apothecium and its short stalk are composed largely of generative tissue. In practical terms, that makes the stalk a true podetium (a podetium is a tiny stalk that supports the spore-bearing disc). This method of development, together with overall form, aligns Calathaspis most closely with Gymnoderma, although Calathaspis has more complex, transversely multiseptate spores rather than simple, non-septate ones.
Description
The lichen body (thallus) forms dense, minute cushions of crowded, scale-like lobes (squamules). Individual lobes are 2–5 mm long and 0.3–0.6 (rarely up to 0.8) mm wide, mostly prostrate to slightly spreading, divided sub-dichotomously or fan-like, and attached by their bases without any root-like rhizines.
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This entry incorporates text from “Calathaspis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.