''Catolechia'' is a

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 ...

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 family

Rhizocarpaceae Rhizocarpaceae is a family (biology), family of crustose, lecideoid, lichen-forming fungi and together with the family Sporastatiaceae it constitutes the order Rhizocarpales in the Ascomycota, class Lecanoromycetes. Genera * ''Catolechia'' * ' ...

. It is a

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 ...

genus, containing the single species ''Catolechia wahlenbergii''. The genus 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 German botanist

Julius von Flotow Julius von Flotow; full name- Julius Christian Gottlieb Ulrich Gustav Georg Adam Ernst Friedrich von Flotow (9 March 1788 – 15 August 1856) was a German military officer and a botanist specialized in lichenology and bryology. Von Flotow was bor ...

in 1850. He did not assign a

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 ...

for the genus; ''Catolechia pulchella'' was designated as the type by

Gustav Wilhelm Körber Gustav Wilhelm Körber (10 January 1817, Hirschberg – 27 January 1885, Breslau) was a German lichenologist. He studied natural sciences in Breslau and Berlin, obtaining his PhD in 1839 with the thesis ''De gonidiis lichenum''. After graduati ...

in 1855. This species is

synonymous A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

with ''Catolechia wahlenbergii''. Several species that were originally described as a member of ''Catolechia'' have since been transferred to other genera. Examples include: *''Catolechia flavovirescens'' = '' Arthrorhaphis citrinella'' *''Catolechia glomerulans'' = '' Monerolechia glomerulans'' *''Catolechia lactea'' = '' Buellia lactea'' *''Catolechia marginulata'' = '' Buellia marginulata'' *''Catolechia moriopsis'' = '' Orphniospora moriopsis'' *''Catolechia pyxinoides'' = '' Pyxine pyxinoides'' *''Catolechia subcoronata'' = '' Buellia subcoronata'' *''Catolechia tenuis'' = ''

Dimelaena tenuis ''Dimelaena'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Caliciaceae.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, Members of the genus are commonly called mountain lichens, or moonglow lichens. They are p ...

'' *''Catolechia wahlenbergii'' ß ''alpina'' = '' Bellemerea alpina''

References

Rhizocarpaceae Lichen genera Monotypic Lecanoromycetes genera Taxa described in 1850 Taxa named by Julius von Flotow {{Lecanoromycetes-stub