''Lepraria sekikaica'' is a species of leprose (powdery)

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Lecanoraceae The Lecanoraceae are a family of lichenized fungi in the order Lecanorales. Species of this family have a widespread distribution. Taxonomy Lecanoraceae was circumscribed by German lichenologist Gustav Wilhelm Körber in 1855. Genera According ...

. Found in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, it was formally described as a new species by lichenologist John Elix. It was one of 100 new lichen species published in a single article, helping to highlight the extent of undiscovered global

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

. 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 the author in the Boyagin Rock Nature Reserve. It is known from several locations in Western Australia, where it grows on the ground under sheltered rock ledges. The lichen products made by ''Lepraria sekikaica'' include atranorin, homosekikaic acid, 4'-''O''-demethylsekikaic acid, and fragilin as minor products, and

sekikaic acid Sekikaic acid is an organic compound in the structural class of chemicals known as depsides. It is found in some lichens. First isolated from '' Ramalina sekika'', it is a fairly common lichen product in ''Ramalina'' and ''Cladonia'', both genera ...

as a major metabolite. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

refers to the latter compound; ''Lepraria sekikaica'' is the first known in genus ''

Lepraria ''Lepraria'' is a genus of leprose crustose lichens that grows on its substrate like patches of granular, caked up, mealy dust grains.A taxonomic revision of the North American species of Lepraria s.l. that produce divaricatic acid, with note ...

'' to contain this substance.

References

Lichen species Lichens described in 2011 Lichens of Australia sekikaica Taxa named by John Alan Elix {{Lecanorales-stub