''Bathelium mirabile'' is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling)

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Trypetheliaceae The Trypetheliaceae are a family of mainly lichen-forming fungi in the order Trypetheliales. Genera *'' Alloarthopyrenia'' – 1 sp. *''Aptrootia'' – 3 spp. *'' Architrypethelium'' – 8 spp. *''Astrothelium'' – ca. 275 spp. *'' Bathel ...

. Found in Bolivia, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by lichenologists Adam Flakus, Martin Kukwa, and

André Aptroot André Aptroot (Heemskerk, 1961) is a Dutch mycologist and lichenologist. In 1993 he did his PhD at the University of Utrecht under the supervision of Robbert Gradstein (nl). His dissertation was titled "Systematic studies on pyrenocarpous li ...

. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, 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 a ...

was collected near the biological station in the

Beni Biological Station Biosphere Reserve Beni Biological Station Biosphere Reserve (''Reserva de Biosfera Estación Biológica del Beni)'') is a protected area in Bolivia located in the Beni Department, in the José Ballivián Province José Ballivián is a province of the Beni Departm ...

(

Yacuma Province Yacuma is a province in the Beni Department in Bolivia. Its seat is Santa Ana del Yacuma. Subdivision Yacuma Province is divided into two municipalities which are partly further subdivided into cantons. Places of interest * Beni Biologi ...

Beni Department Beni (), sometimes El Beni, is a northeastern department of Bolivia, in the lowlands region of the country. It is the second-largest department in the country (after Santa Cruz), covering 213,564 square kilometers (82,458 sq mi), and it was cre ...

) at an altitude of ; there, it was found growing on bark in an island of

Amazon forest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

surrounded by

Beni savanna The Beni savanna, also known as the Llanos de Moxos or Moxos plains, is a tropical savanna ecoregion of the Beni Department of northern Bolivia. Setting The Beni savanna covers an area of in the lowlands of northern Bolivia, with small portion ...

. It is only known to occur in this and similar habitats in Bolivia. The species epithet ''mirabile'' makes reference to the "unusual combination of pigments in the pseudostromata".

References

Trypetheliaceae Lichen species Lichens described in 2016 Lichens of Bolivia Taxa named by André Aptroot Taxa named by Adam Grzegorz Flakus {{Dothideomycetes-stub