Pyrenula biseptata
species of lichen
Pyrenula biseptata is a rare species of corticolous (bark-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Pyrenulaceae. It was formally described as a new species in 2018 by the lichenologists André Aptroot and Marcela Cáceres. This lichen is distinguished by its unique ascospores that are divided by exactly two internal cross-walls, a rare characteristic that makes it one of only two species in its genus with this feature. It grows on smooth tree bark in primary rainforest in northern Brazil and forms a thin, dark brown crust with small black, flask-shaped fruiting bodies.
Taxonomy
Pyrenula biseptata was formally described in 2018 by André Aptroot and Marcela Cáceres during a survey of tropical pyrenocarpous lichens in Brazil. It is distinguished within the genus Pyrenula by its consistently 2-septate ascospores—a rare trait in both lichenised and non-lichenised fungi, as most species typically produce spores with 1 or 3 septa. This makes P. biseptata one of only two species in the genus known to possess this character; the other, P. lineatostroma, differs in having fused ascomata (pseudostromata) and a non-inspersed hamathecium.
Description
Pyrenula biseptata is a crustose lichen that forms a thin, smooth, dark brown thallus. It lacks features such as pseudocyphellae (small pores or breaks in the surface) and visible deposits of crystals. The photobiont partner is a green alga from the genus Trentepohlia, commonly found in tropical lichens.
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This entry incorporates text from “Pyrenula biseptata” 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.