lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.fungus in the family Lecanoraceae. It is found in Alaska and the Yukon, where it grows on granitic boulders.
Taxonomy
The lichen was described as a new species in 2020 by British lichenologist Alan Fryday. The type specimen was collected in the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, of Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska, on a mountain west of Dundas Bay. Here it was found growing on the upper surface of a flat granitic boulder on an alpine ridge at an altitude of . DNA analysis of specimens from the type locality confirm a placement in the genus ''
Miriquidica
''Miriquidica'' is a genus of lichen in the family Lecanoraceae. The genus was circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed in 19876 by lichenologists Hannes Hertel and Gerhard Rambold, with ''Miriquidica complanata'' assigned as the type species. ...
'', although there is not yet enough known about other members of the genus to clarify any closer phylogenetic relationships.
Description
The thallus of ''Miriquidica gyrizans'' has no definite boundaries, consisting of
areoles
In botany, areoles are small light- to dark-colored bumps on cactus, cacti out of which grow clusters of Thorns, spines, and prickles, spines. Areoles are important diagnostic features of cactus, cacti, and identify them as a family distinct fr ...
(small, rounded to polygonal or irregular areas) that are either contiguous or dispersed. These areoles, which measure 0.1–0.2 mm across, are pale brown with a layer of dead fungal cells that imparts a grey tinge. Areoles associate with the
cyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria (), also known as Cyanophyta, are a phylum of gram-negative bacteria that obtain energy via photosynthesis. The name ''cyanobacteria'' refers to their color (), which similarly forms the basis of cyanobacteria's common name, blu ...
''
Gloeocapsa
''Gloeocapsa'' (from the Greek ''gloia'' (gelatinous) and the Latin ''capsa'' (case)) is a genus of cyanobacteria. The cells secrete individual gelatinous sheaths which can often be seen as sheaths around recently divided cells within outer shea ...
'', whose reddish cells–measuring 7.5 to 12.5
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 ...
in diameter–group together in groups of two to four. The
mycobiont
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.green algae
The green algae (singular: green alga) are a group consisting of the Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister which contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/Streptophyta. The land plants (Embryophytes) have emerged deep in the Charophyte alga as ...
with a spherical shape), with dimensions of 5‒9 μm in diameter.
The apothecia of the lichen are black, measuring 0.4‒0.6 mm in diameter. It has a lecideine form, meaning that it is black, with a carbonaceous (blackened) exciple and blackish disc. The disc, when young, has an umbo that becomes more or less completely gyrose (spiralled, with a folded or ridged surface). It is this last feature that is alluded to in 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 ...
''Miriquidica gyrizans'' grows on granitic boulders in alpine and subalpine areas. It typically on the top of the rock, but sometimes on the sides in lower elevations. In addition to the type locality in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska, the lichen has been recorded from the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park and from Kenai Fjords National Park.