''Ferraroa'' is a single-species

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 ...

in the family

Gomphillaceae The Gomphillaceae are a family of lichens in the order Ostropales. Species in this family are found mostly in tropical regions. Genera According to a recent (2020) estimate, the Gomphillaceae comprise 26 genera and about 420 species. The followi ...

. 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 ''Ferraroa hyalina'', a foliicolous (leaf-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.Robert Lücking Robert Lücking (born 1964) is a German lichenologist. He is a leading expert on foliicolous lichens–lichens that live on leaves. Life and career Born in Ulm in 1964, Lücking earned both his master's (1990) and PhD degree (1994) at the Univer ...

in 1997 as ''Gyalideopsis hyalina''. 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 leaves of ''

Inga oerstediana ''Inga oerstediana'' is a species of tree in the family Fabaceae. It was described by English botanist George Bentham. It can be found in Mexico, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bo ...

'' in Costa Rica. Lücking,

Emmanuël Sérusiaux Emmanuël Sérusiaux (born 3 October 1953) is a Belgian lichenologist. His career, spanning more than four decades, has combined both lichenology research and political aspects of nature conservation. He spent several periods working as a res ...

, and

Antonín Vězda Antonín (Toni) Vězda (25 November 1920 – 10 November 2008) was a Czech lichenologist. After completing a university education that was postponed by World War II, Vězda taught botany at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech U ...

transferred the

taxon 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 ...

to the newly circumscribed genus ''Ferraroa'' in 2005 after

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analysis showed it to belong to a unique lineage. The generic name ''Ferraroa'' honours Argentinian lichenologist Lidia Itatí Ferraro, "for her many contributions to lichenology in southern South America, and to our knowledge of Gomphillaceae".

References

Ostropales Lichen genera Ostropales genera Taxa named by Antonín Vězda Taxa named by Emmanuël Sérusiaux Taxa named by Robert Lücking {{Ostropales-stub