''Gibbosporina'' 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 ...

of 13 species of

foliose lichen Foliose lichen is one of the morphological classes of lichens, which are complex organisms that arise from the symbiotic relationship between fungi and a photosynthetic partner, typically algae. This partnership allows lichen to live in diverse ...

s 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 contains species that

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 clustered together in a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

previously referred to as the "'' Physma''"-group. Despite their morphological differences, this group shares several uniting characteristics. They have ring-like excipular margins around the

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 ...

; strongly

amyloid Amyloids are aggregates of proteins characterised by a Fibril, fibrillar morphology of 7–13 Nanometer, nm in diameter, a beta sheet (β-sheet) Secondary structure of proteins, secondary structure (known as cross-β) and ability to be Staining, ...

internal

ascus 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 ...

structures; well-developed perispores (a colorless, often gelatinous layer that envelops a spore) that feature irregular gibbae (irregular bumps), but not verrucae (small, rounded wart-like protuberances); lacks

secondary compounds Secondary metabolites, also called specialised metabolites, toxins, secondary products, or natural products, are organic compounds produced by any lifeform, e.g. bacteria, fungi, animals, or plants, which are not directly involved in the norma ...

than can be detected by

thin-layer chromatography Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is a chromatography technique used to separate non-volatile mixtures. Thin-layer chromatography is performed on a sheet of an inert substrate such as glass, plastic, or aluminium foil, which is coated with a t ...

; and have

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

distributions.

Taxonomy

It 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 ...

as a new genus in 2016 by

Arve Elvebakk Arve Elvebakk (born 1951) is a Norwegian mycologist and professor working from the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø who has published widely on Arctic biology, and climatology. Additionally, he collaborates with many mycologists across ...

, Soon Gyu Hong and

Per Magnus Jørgensen Per Magnus Jørgensen (born 1944) is a Norwegian botanist and lichenologist, and Professor Emeritus of systematic botany at the University of Bergen. He is known for his work on the lichen families Pannariaceae and Collemataceae. Jørgensen wa ...

. 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 was assigned to ''Gibbosporina boninensis'', originally described in 1969 by

Syo Kurokawa Kashiwadani. was a noted Japanese lichenologist and 1994 recipient of the Acharius Medal. He studied under Mason HaleDePriest. and Yasuhiko Asahina. Eponyms Several lichen species have been named to honour Kurokawa. These eponyms include: '' Usn ...

as ''Psoroma boninense''. The genus name, which combines the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''gibbus'' ("with hump-like swellings") with ''spora'', refers to the characteristic spore feature.

Species

*'' Gibbosporina acuminata'' – Australia; the Philippines *'' Gibbosporina amphorella'' – New Caledonia *'' Gibbosporina bifrons'' – Malaysia; New Caledonia; the Philippines; Solomon Islands *'' Gibbosporina boninensis'' *'' Gibbosporina cyanea'' – Sri Lanka *'' Gibbosporina didyma'' – Mauritius; Réunion *'' Gibbosporina elixii'' – Australia *'' Gibbosporina leptospora'' – Australia; Fiji; New Caledonia; Papua New Guinea *'' Gibbosporina mascarena'' *'' Gibbosporina nitida'' – Australia; Fiji; Papua New Guinea; the Philippines *'' Gibbosporina papillospora'' – the Philippines *'' Gibbosporina sphaerospora'' – Australia; Fiji, Indonesia; Malaysia; Papua New Guinea; the Philippines; Samoa *'' Gibbosporina thamnophora'' – Australia; Papua New Guinea The species ''Gibbosporina phyllidiata'' was originally included in this genus, but later research showed that the lichen contained the secondary chemical pannarin and was therefore moved to genus ''

Pannaria ''Pannaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Pannariaceae. The widespread genus contains an estimated 51 species, found primarily in tropical regions. Species *''Pannaria aenea'' *'' Pannaria andina'' *'' Pannaria aotearoana' ...

'' with the new name '' P. melanesica'' (a new name was required as ''

Pannaria phyllidiata ''Pannaria phyllidiata'' is a species of lichen in the family Pannariaceae. Known from Australia, it was described as new to science in 2011. It is characterised by its unique (small leaf-like or scale-like propagules) and distinct distribu ...

'' already existed for a different species).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q30101379 Peltigerales genera Lichen genera Taxa described in 2016 Taxa named by Per Magnus Jørgensen Taxa named by Arve Elvebakk