Ancistrosporella onchospora (Nyl.) Ertz, 2018

Ertz, Damien, 2018, New combinations in Ancistrosporella (Roccellaceae, Arthoniales), Phytotaxa 379 (3), pp. 271-273 : 273

Ancistrosporella onchospora (Nyl.) Ertz comb. nov. ( Fig. 1 C–F )

MycoBank: MB 828694

Basionym: Opegrapha onchospora Nyl., Acta Soc. Sci. Fenn. 7: 475 + tab. II-fig.43 (1863).

Types : COLOMBIA [“Nova Granata”]. prope Bogota, 2600 m, 1860, Lindig 2787 (lectotype H-NYL6542!, designated here MBT 384440; isolectotype PC0146184!) .

Description from the lectotype:— Thallus crustose, very thin (almost inconspicuous), cream to brown. Ascomata lirelliform, sessile, black, epruinose, with hymenium often slightly exposed and epruinose, mainly straight to slightly flexuose, rarely bifurcate, (0.3–)0.5–1.5(–2) × 0.1–0.2 mm. Excipulum dark brown, continuous and thicker below the hymenium, 25–40 μm thick laterally, 50–60 μm thick below the hymenium, K+ slightly olivaceous. Hymenium hyaline, not inspersed, ca. 75–85 μm tall, I+ blue turning orange-red, KI+ blue; subhymenium pale brown of ca. 5–10 μm thick, I+ persistently blue; epihymenium brown, I+ persistently blue. Paraphysoids with enlarged, brown-granulose apices up to 3 μm wide. Asci narrowly clavate, 8-spored, 48–60 × 11–12 μm (n=4). Ascospores hyaline, 3-septate, fusiform with one end distinctly curved to hooked, 34–38 × 2.5–3.5 μm (n=3), without gelatinous sheath. TLC not performed.

Notes:—This species differs from Ancistrosporella leucophila by a thinner, cream to brownish thallus and longer ascomata. More material, field observations and molecular phylogenetic studies are needed to verify if A. leucophila and A. onchospora are two distinct species or if the differences observed are part of the intraspecific variability.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Ancistrosporella. a–b A. leucophila. c–f A. onchospora. a Lectotype of A. leucophila. b Thallus and ascomata (lectotype of A. leucophila). c Lectotype of A. onchospora. d Thallus, prothallus and ascomata (lectotype of A. onchospora). e Ascus (isolectotype of A. onchospora). f Ascospore having one typical hooked end (isolectotype of A. onchospora). Scale bars: b, d=500 μm, e=15 μm, f=5 μm. (Photos D. Ertz)