''Agonimia octospora'' is a species of corticolous, (bark-dwelling)

squamulose A squamulose lichen is a lichen that is composed of small, often overlapping "scales" called squamules. If they are raised from the substrate and appear leafy, the lichen may appear to be a foliose lichen, but the underside does not have a "ski ...

(scaley) lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It was formally described as a new species in 1978 by lichenologists

Brian John Coppins Brian John Coppins (born 1949) is a botanist and lichenologist, considered a world authority on crustose lichens and a leading expert on the genus '' Micarea''. Education Coppins' interest in lichens was sparked during a field trip to the Scot ...

and

Peter Wilfred James Peter Wilfred James (1930–2014) was an English botanist and lichenologist. He was a pioneer in the study of lichens as environmental indicators, especially of atmospheric pollution. Early life and education Peter W. James grew up in Sutton Co ...

. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes th ...

was collected in

Glengarriff Forest Glengarriff Forest is an area of woodland near Glengarriff, West Cork, Ireland. Most of the woodland is a nature reserve in public ownership which is sometimes referred to as Glengarriff "forest park" or "state forest". Glengarriff Forest is ...

in (

West Cork West Cork ( ga, Iarthar Chorcaí) is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administrative area of Cork County Council, and includes the towns of Bantry, Castletownber ...

(Ireland), where it was found growing on the bark of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

. Characteristics of the lichen include its colourless

ascospore An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera or ...

s that number eight per ascus, and its tiny squamules (up to 0.3 mm long) that are closely attached (''adpressed'') on its substrate. Its spores typically measure 60–75 by 20–26 μm. The lichen is found in Europe and South America.

References

Verrucariales Lichens described in 1978 Lichen species Lichens of Europe Lichens of South America Taxa named by Brian John Coppins Taxa named by Peter Wilfred James {{Eurotiomycetes-stub