''Fominiella'' 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

Teloschistaceae The Teloschistaceae are a large family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. The family, estimated to contain over 1800 species, was extensively revised in 2013, including the creation o ...

. It contains two species with a thin, film like and inconspicuous

thallus Thallus (plural: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. Many of these organisms wer ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Fominiella'' was proposed in 2017 by the lichenologists

Sergey Kondratyuk Sergey Yakovlevich Kondratyuk ( uk, Сергій Якович Кондратюк) (born 17 May 1959) is a Ukrainian botanist specialising in lichenology. His research deals with the taxonomy, floristics, ecology and geography of lichens and lic ...

Dalip Kumar Upreti Dalip Kumar Upreti (born 26 January 1958) is an Indian lichenologist.ENVIS C ...

, and Jae-Seoun Hur. Their

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 revealed several

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

branches in the

phylogenetic tree A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ...

of the family

. One of these new branches was occupied by a species known only from the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

, which was named ''Fominiella tenerifensis'' and 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 ...

of the genus. The species then known as ''Caloplaca skii'' was also included in the genus on the basis of DNA analysis. The genus name honours the Ukrainian botanist Aleksandr Vasiljevich Fomin, who specialised in cryptogams. ''Fominiella'' is in the subfamily Xanthorioideae of the family Teloschistaceae. It is somewhat similar to two other genera in that subfamily that also have very reduced thalli: ''

Athallia ''Athallia'' is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Teloschistaceae The Teloschistaceae are a large family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. The family, estimated to contain ...

'' and '' Xanthocarpia''. In 2013, Ulf Arup and colleagues had proposed ''Caloplaca skii'' for inclusion in ''Athallia''.

Description

''Fominiella'' encompasses two species of lichen with a thin, film-like

that is often not immediately noticeable, with colours that range from whitish to light grey or pale yellowish. These lichens lack a developed , which is a layer below the main body of the thallus. The reproductive structures, known as apothecia, vary from to or in form. The apothecia have a yellow-orange with a margin that is always a lighter yellow, creating a distinct contrast between the margin and the disc. The , which is the layer surrounding the apothecial disc, can be white, greyish, or yellow-white in colour. This exciple may either disappear over time or remain, and the is described as being leptodermatous and , indicating it is thin and composed of tightly interwoven cells. ''Fominiella'' produces

asci ASCI or Asci may refer to: * Advertising Standards Council of India * Asci, the plural of ascus, in fungal anatomy * Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative * American Society for Clinical Investigation * Argus Sour Crude Index * Association of ...

that contain eight spores each. The are and

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 ...

, meaning they have two chambers and are transparent. The chemical composition of these lichens includes parietin as the major secondary metabolite ( lichen product), with emodin,

parietinic acid Parietinic acid is an organic compound in the structural class of chemicals known as anthraquinones. It is found in many species of the lichen family Teloschistaceae. The substance was first reported in the literature by the German chemist Walter ...

fallacinal Fallacinal is an organic compound in the structural class of chemicals known as anthraquinones. It is found in many species of the lichen family Teloschistaceae. History In 1936, Japanese chemists Mitizo Asano and Sinobu Fuziwara reported on the ...

, and

teloschistin Fallacinol (teloschistin) is an organic compound in the structural class of chemicals known as anthraquinones. It is found in some lichens, particularly in the family Teloschistaceae, as well as a couple of plants and non lichen-forming fungi. In ...

present in trace amounts.

Species

* '' Fominiella skii'' – Asia; Europe * '' Fominiella tenerifensis'' – Canary Islands

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q43867631 Teloschistales Teloschistales genera Lichen genera Taxa described in 2017 Taxa named by Sergey Kondratyuk Taxa named by Dalip Kumar Upreti Taxa named by Jae-Seoun Hur