''Fuscopannaria dispersa'' is a species of
corticolous (bark-dwelling), in the family
Pannariaceae
The Pannariaceae are a family of lichens in the order Peltigerales (suborder Collematineae). Species from this family have a widespread distribution, but are especially prevalent in southern temperate regions.
Genera
According to a recent (202 ...
.
It is found in China, where it grows on the bark of several tree species at an elevation range from , close to the
forest limit. It was
formally described as a new species in 2000 by Norwegian lichenologist
Per Magnus Jørgensen. 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 by
Joseph Rock from the eastern slopes of Likang Snow Range (
Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
watershed,
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
) in 1922, and has since been documented in a few locations in eastern China. The lichen has a brown
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 ...
made of small squamules (up to 2 mm in diameter) spread out over a distinct black
prothallus
A prothallus, or prothallium, (from Latin ''pro'' = forwards and Greek ''θαλλος'' (''thallos'') = twig) is usually the gametophyte stage in the life of a fern or other pteridophyte. Occasionally the term is also used to describe the young ...
. Its
ascospore
An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera or s ...
s 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 ...
, colourless, lack
septa
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...
, and measure 15–17 by 9–10
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 ...
. ''Fuscopannaria dispersa'' is similar to the more widespread ''
F. leucosticta'' (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 genus ''
Fuscopannaria
''Fuscopannaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Pannariaceae. It has 55 species.
Taxonomy
The genus was circumscribed by Norwegian lichenologist Per Magnus Jørgensen in 1994, with ''Fuscopannaria leucosticta'' assigned as t ...
''), but can be distinguished from that species by the squamulose form of its thallus and by its smaller, rounder ascospores.
References
dispersa
Lichen species
Lichens described in 2000
Taxa named by Per Magnus Jørgensen
Lichens of China
{{Peltigerales-stub