''Canoparmelia consanguinea'' is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling),

foliose lichen Foliose lichen is one of the morphological classes of lichens, which are complex organisms that arise from the symbiotic relationship between fungi and a photosynthetic partner, typically algae. This partnership allows lichen to live in diverse ...

in the family

Parmeliaceae The Parmeliaceae is a large and diverse family of Lecanoromycetes. With over 2700 species in 71 genera, it is the largest family of lichen-forming fungi. The most speciose genera in the family are the well-known groups: '' Xanthoparmelia'' ( 822 ...

. Found in Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2009 by lichenologists Marcelo Marcelli, Luciana da Silva Canêz, and John Elix. 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 from an open field in Fazenda da Estrela (

Vacaria Vacaria is a municipality in the northeast of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is located at a latitude of 28° 30' 44" South and a longitude of 50° 56' 02" west, with an altitude of 971 meters. Its population in 2020 was ...

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

) at an altitude of , where it was growing on

basaltic rock Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...

Description

The thallus of ''Canoparmelia consanguinea'' is greenish-gray and lobed, with a width of up to . The lobes are irregularly branched, loosely attached to the surface, and slightly overlap each other. The tips are rounded, and the edges are smooth or have slight waves. The surface can be smooth or slightly cracked in the middle and shiny. There are no or present, but there are reticulate (a type of marking) on the distal areas. The

soralia Soredia are common reproductive structures of lichens. Lichens reproduce asexually by employing simple fragmentation and production of soredia and isidia. Soredia are powdery propagules composed of fungal hyphae wrapped around cyanobacteria o ...

(reproductive structures) are circular and black when old, found on both the surface and edges of the thallus. They produce granular soredia, which are persistent and stick together, eventually forming small, irregularly shaped structures called or . The medulla is white, and there is no purple pigment produced when exposed to K chemical. The lower surface of the thallus is black and can be dull or slightly shiny. It may have small bumps or be smooth in some parts. The outer edges are brown and can be smooth or slightly bumpy. The rhizines (root-like structures) are black, some with whitish tips, and can be simple or have a brush-like appearance. Apothecia (another type of reproductive structure) are rare and flat, attached to the surface and have a diameter of 2.7 mm. The edges can be smooth or have soredia. The 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 ...

and measure 10.0–12.5 by 5.0–6.0

μm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

with a thin outer layer () measuring 1.0 μm. (another reproductive structure) are immature and not visible in this species. Major lichen products in ''Canoparmelia consanguinea'' are olivetolcarboxylic acid, decarboxynorstenosporic acid, and 4-''O''-demethylstenosporic acid; there are several other substances that occur in minor or trace amounts.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17387238 Parmeliaceae Lichen species Lichens described in 2009 Lichens of Brazil Taxa named by John Alan Elix