''Melarthonis'' is fungal

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 ...

in the family Chrysotrichaceae. It is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus, containing the single species ''Melarthonis piceae'', a

corticolous lichen A corticolous lichen is a lichen that grows on bark.Alan Silverside's Lichen Glossary (a-f), Alan Silverside/ref> This is contrasted with lignicolous lichen, which grows on wood that has had the bark stripped from it,Alan Silverside's Lichen Glos ...

. Both the genus and species were described as new to science in 2014 by Andreas Frisch and Göran Thor. 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 from

Mount Oakan is a stratovolcano located in Akan National Park in Hokkaidō, Japan. Geography and geology Mount Oakan sits in the Akan caldera northeast of Lake Akan. The volcano rises some above the surrounding terrain. The top of the volcano is above se ...

(

Kushiro Province was a short-lived province in Hokkaidō. It corresponded to modern-day Kushiro Subprefecture and part of Abashiri Subprefecture. History After 1869, the northern Japanese island became known as Hokkaido; Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005) "Ho ...

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

) at an altitude of ; there, it was found growing on the bark of a

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

tree in an

old-growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

. It is only known to occur in the type locality. The genus name alludes to the black

ascomata An ascocarp, or ascoma (), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascocarps are mo ...

that are similar to those in genus ''

Arthonia ''Arthonia'' is a genus of lichens in the family Arthoniaceae. It was circumscribed by Swedish botanist Erik Acharius in 1806. It is a genus of thin crustose lichen of widely varying forms, commonly called comma lichens.Field Guide to Californi ...

'', while the species epithet refers to the genus of the

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

tree (''Picea'').

References

Arthoniomycetes Lichen genera Taxa described in 2014 Arthoniomycetes genera Monotypic Ascomycota genera {{Arthoniomycetes-stub