''Biatora kalbii'' is a species of squamulose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. It has a pantropical distribution.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by Brazilian lichenologist Lois Brako in her 1991

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

on the genus ''

Biatora ''Biatora'' is a genus of lichens in the family Ramalinaceae. First described in 1817,Fries EM, Sandberg A. (1817). ''Lichenum dianome nova''. Lund. the genus consists of crustose and squamulose lichens with green algal photobionts, biatorine ...

''. The type specimen was collected in 1980 from

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul () is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay, to the southwest, and ...

Klaus Kalb Klaus Kalb (born 1942) is a German lichenologist and an authority on tropical lichens. Biography Klaus Kalb was born in Nuremberg in 1942 and grew up in southern Bavaria. From 1960 to 1965 he studied biology, chemistry, and geography at ...

, for whom the species in named. Sergey Kondratyuk transferred the species from genus ''

Phyllopsora ''Phyllopsora'' is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. It was circumscribed by Swiss botanist Johannes Müller Argoviensis in 1894. The characteristics of a fossilized ''Phyllopsora'', '' Phyllopsora dominicana'', found in Do ...

'' to ''

'' in 2019.

Description

The thallus of ''Biatora kalbii'' is made of small round to elongated, convex green squamules (scales) measuring 0.1–0.3 mm in diameter. Some scales are arranged so that they are discrete, while others may overlap; all are attached closely to the

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (locomotion), the surface over which an organism lo ...

. Isidia are spherical; they lengthen by budding. The prothallus is pale and thin. Apothecia (sexual reproductive structures) are common in ''Biatora kalbii''; they are circular with a pale to dark brown disc that is either flat or slightly convex, and a margin around the disc. The ascospores 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 ...

to short-fusiform (tapering on both ends). Pycnidia are common on the lichen surface; they appear tan-coloured spots with orange to brown

ostiole An ''ostiole'' is a small hole or opening through which algae or fungi release their mature spores. The word is a diminutive of "ostium", "opening". The term is also used in higher plants, for example to denote the opening of the involuted ...

s immersed in the thallus. The pycnidia produce straight, rod-shaped

conidia A conidium ( ; ), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (), is an asexual, non-motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word for dust, ('). They are also called mitospores due to the ...

that measure 9 by 1

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 ...

. The lichen does not produce any secondary chemicals that could be detected with standard spot tests.

Distribution

''Biatora kalbii'' has a pantropical distribution, with most records recorded from altitudes between . Brako's original description includes records from the United States, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Kenya, and Tanzania.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107522390 kalbii Lichen species Lichens described in 1991 Lichens of Africa Lichens of the Caribbean Lichens of the United States Lichens of Brazil Fungi without expected TNC conservation status