Biatorellaceae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

in the subclass

Lecanoromycetidae The Lecanoromycetidae are a subclass of fungi in the class Lecanoromycetes. This subclass contains five orders: the Caliciales , the Lecanorales , the Lecideales , the Leprocaulales , the Peltigerales , the Rhizocarpales , and the Teloschistales ...

. The family is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

, and contains the single

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Biatorella'', which contains eight species. Species in the genus have a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...

, they are also found in northern

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

regions, especially in Europe. but also in tropical Central America, Africa and Asia (such as India). As well as Australia.

Systematics

The family is classified as

incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...

with respect to ordinal placement in the Lecanoromycetidae, as there is no reliable

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...

data available to establish

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

relationships with similar

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

. Genus ''Biatorella'' was

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

by Italian botanist

Giuseppe De Notaris Giuseppe De Notaris (18 April 1805, Milan – 22 January 1877) was an Italian botanist generally known for his work with cryptogams native to Italy. He studied medicine at the University of Pavia, obtaining his medical degree in 1830. Having deve ...

in 1846, with '' Biatorella rousselii'' assigned as the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

. The family Biatorellaceae was originally proposed by French lichenologist

Maurice Choisy Maurice Gustave Benoît Choisy (29 June 1897 – 19 June 1966) was a French mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to h ...

in 1949, but he did not publish the name validly.

Josef Hafellner Josef Hafellner (1951– ) is an Austrian mycologist and lichenologist. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 2016 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology. Before his retirement, he was a professor at the Karl-Franzens-Universität in Graz ...

and Manuel Casares published the name validly in 1992.

Description

Biatorellaceae species are

crustose lichen Crustose lichens are lichens that form a crust which strongly adheres to the Substrate (biology), substrate (soil, rock, tree bark, etc.), making separation from the substrate impossible without destruction. The basic structure of crustose lichen ...

s with a chlorococcoid

photobiont A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.green algae The green algae (singular: green alga) are a group consisting of the Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister which contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/Streptophyta. The land plants (Embryophytes) have emerged deep in the Charophyte alga as ...

of the genus ''

Chlorococcum ''Chlorococcum'' is a genus of green algae, in the family Chlorococcaceae. The alga may be useful in the flocculation of lipids from wastewater. Species , AlgaeBase accepted the following species: *'' Chlorococcum acidum'' P.A.Archibald & Bold * ...

''). The lichens have

ascomata An ascocarp, or ascoma (), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascocarps are mo ...

in the form of biatorine

apothecia An ascocarp, or ascoma (), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascocarps are mo ...

, which often have a reduced margin around the edge.

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 ...

s are

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that may be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a surface that may be defined as the ...

to roughly spherical in shape,

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

, and non-

amyloid Amyloids are aggregates of proteins characterised by a Fibril, fibrillar morphology of 7–13 Nanometer, nm in diameter, a beta sheet (β-sheet) Secondary structure of proteins, secondary structure (known as cross-β) and ability to be Staining, ...

. ''Biatorella'' lichens grow on soil or bark.

Species

Species Fungorum ''Index Fungorum'' is an international project to index all formal names (scientific names) in the fungus kingdom. the project is based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, one of three partners along with Landcare Research and the Institute of Mi ...

accepts eight species of ''Biatorella'': *'' Biatorella australica'' *''

Biatorella consanguinea ''Biatorella'' is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Biatorellaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. Species The genus ''Biatorella'' includes the following species: * '' Biatorella algerica'' * '' Biatorella algoviae'' * ...

'' *'' Biatorella desmaspora'' *'' Biatorella epiphysa'' *''

Biatorella fossarum ''Biatorella'' is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Biatorellaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. Species The genus ''Biatorella'' includes the following species: * '' Biatorella algerica'' * '' Biatorella algoviae'' * ...

'' *''

Biatorella hemisphaerica ''Biatorella'' is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Biatorellaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. Species The genus ''Biatorella'' includes the following species: * '' Biatorella algerica'' * '' Biatorella algoviae'' * ...

'' *'' Biatorella rousselii'' *''

Biatorella saxicola ''Biatorella'' is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Biatorellaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. Species The genus ''Biatorella'' includes the following species: * '' Biatorella algerica'' * '' Biatorella algoviae'' * ...

'' – Hong Kong

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q4902681, from2=Q10429301 Lecanoromycetes Lichen families Lecanoromycetes families Taxa named by Josef Hafellner Taxa described in 1992 Monogeneric fungus families