''Fulgogasparrea appressa'' is a species of

saxicolous A saxicolous lichen is a lichen that grows on rock. The prefix "sax" from the Latin means "rock" or "stone". Characteristics Saxicolous lichens exhibit very slow growth rates. They may develop on rock substrates for long periods of time, give ...

(rock-dwelling),

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 ...

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 has a widespread distribution in western Mexico, including

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

. It is characterized by its vibrant colors, unique shape, and specific habitat preferences.

Taxonomy

''Caloplaca appressa'' was

scientifically described A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...

as a member of the genus ''

Caloplaca ''Caloplaca'' is a lichen genus comprising a number of distinct species. Members of the genus are commonly called firedot lichen, jewel lichen.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, gold lichens, "ora ...

'' by lichenologists Clifford Wetmore and

Ingvar Kärnefelt Jan Eric Ingvar Kärnefelt (born 1944) is a Swedish lichenologist. Early life and education Kärnefelt was born in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1944. His initial goal in his higher-level studies at University of Cologne in 1966–1967 was to become ...

in 1998. Ulf Arup and colleagues transferred it to the genus '' Wetmoreana'' in 2013, as part of a

molecular phylogenetics 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 ...

-directed restructuring of the family

. It was finally moved to genus ''

Fulgogasparrea ''Fulgogasparrea'' is a genus of crustose lichens in the subfamily Xanthorioideae of the family Teloschistaceae. It has five species. The genus was circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed in 2013, with ''Fulgogasparrea decipioides'' assigned as ...

'' in 2015. The species epithet ''appressa'' alludes to the tightly nature of its

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 ...

to the rock . 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 ...

for this species was discovered in

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

, Mexico, specifically 72 miles east of

Hermosillo Hermosillo (), formerly called Pitic (as in ''Santísima Trinidad del Pitic'' and ''Presidio del Pitic''), is a city located in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the municipal seat of the Hermosillo Municipality, Her ...

on the road to

Sahuaripa Sahuaripa is a town in the Mexican state of Sonora, municipality of Sahuaripa. The area is 5,694.4 km². with a population of 5,792 in 2005. The town and municipal seat had a population of 3,807 in 2000. Location The municipal seat is locate ...

, situated in a

thorn forest A thorn forest is a dense scrubland with vegetation characteristic of dry subtropical and warm temperate areas with a seasonal rainfall averaging . Regions Africa Is present in the southwest of Africa Africa is the world's second-largest ...

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained groundmass. The mineral ...

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...

-rich

volcanic rock Volcanic rock (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) is a rock formed from lava erupted from a volcano. In other words, it differs from other igneous rock by being of volcanic origin. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic r ...

) at an elevation of about .

Description

The thallus of ''Caloplaca appressa'' displays a spectrum of colors from yellowish-orange to orange. The central portion of this thallus has a patchy or appearance with slightly raised patches. The lichen's margins are characterized by distinct that broaden slightly at their tips. These lobes, often tightly adhered to rock surfaces, vary in size, typically falling between 0.7 and 2.0 mm in length and 0.4–1.0 mm in width. The , which are reproductive structures, can either be sessile or slightly raised. These have a reddish-orange and are encircled by a thin . The spores measure around 11–14 by 5.6–7.0 μm with an (a narrower mid-section) of about 5.5–7.0 μm. Further, the presence of , small structures, is also noted, which are red in color. Standard chemical spot tests reveal that reactions with certain chemicals (K, C, I) produce specific color changes, offering additional identification markers.

Habitat and distribution

''Caloplaca appressa'' thrives on various types of

acidic rock Acidic rock or acid rock refers to the chemical composition of igneous rocks that has 63% wt% SiO2 content. Rocks described as acidic usually contain more than 20% of free quartz. Typical acidic rocks are granite or rhyolite. Term is used in che ...

s situated in exposed environments. Its presence is predominantly noted in western parts of Mexico and in regions of

References

{{Taxonbar, from= , from2=Q10440403 , from3=Q25973302 Teloschistales Lichen species Lichens described in 1998 Taxa named by Ingvar Kärnefelt Lichens of Mexico