''Pyrenula celaticarpa'' is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling),

crustose lichen Crustose lichens are lichens that form a crust which strongly adheres to the Substrate (biology), substrate (soil, rock, tree bark, etc.), making separation from the substrate impossible without destruction. The basic structure of crustose lichen ...

in the family

Pyrenulaceae The Pyrenulaceae are a family of fungi in the order Pyrenulales. The family was first named by German botanist Gottlob Ludwig Rabenhorst in 1870. Species in the family have a widespread distribution, but are especially prevalent in the tropics, wh ...

. Found in Brazil, this species is notable for its deeply immersed ascomata (fruiting bodies) with distinctive red

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 (openings). The (spores produced in the

asci ASCI or Asci may refer to: * Advertising Standards Council of India * Asci, the plural of ascus, in fungal anatomy * Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative * American Society for Clinical Investigation * Argus Sour Crude Index * Association of ...

) are 3-

septate In biology, a septum (Latin for ''something that encloses''; plural septa) is a wall, dividing a cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate. Examples Human anatomy * Interatri ...

, meaning they are divided into four sections, and measure 21–24

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 ...

by 10–11 μm. 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 ...

of ''Pyrenula celaticarpa'' was collected from Parque Nacional Serra de Itabaiana in

Areia Branca, Sergipe Areia Branca is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Sergipe. Its population was 18,686 (2020) and it covers . Areia Branca has a population density of 120 inhabitants per square kilometer. It is located from the state capital of Ser ...

, Brazil, at an elevation of about . 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 ...

(main body of the lichen) is rather thick, measuring 0.1–0.2 mm, olive green, and minutely cracked throughout. It lacks

pseudocyphella Pseudocyphellae (singular ''pseudocyphella'') are structures in lichens that appear as tiny pores on the outer surface (the cortex of the lichen. They are caused when there is a break in the cortex of the lichen, and the medullary hyphae extend t ...

e, which are tiny pores, and does not have a

prothallus A prothallus, or prothallium, (from Latin ''pro'' = forwards and Greek ''θαλλος'' (''thallos'') = twig) is usually the gametophyte stage in the life of a fern or other pteridophyte. Occasionally the term is also used to describe the young ...

, a thin border around the thallus. The ascomata are (pear-shaped), 0.6–0.9 mm in diameter, and deeply immersed in the bark beneath the thallus, with a (blackened) wall. The ostioles are usually red-brown to red, occasionally pale brown or almost black, and can be flush or distinctly convex. The , the tissue between the asci, contains

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

(translucent) oil droplets. The are dark brown, irregularly arranged in the asci, and have diamond-shaped internal cavities separated from the wall by a thick layer. ''Pyrenula celaticarpa'' does not have pycnidia (small asexual fruiting bodies). Chemically, the ostiole reacts with potassium hydroxide (K+) to produce a crimson colour due to an unidentified anthraquinone compound. The thallus reacts with K+ to produce an orange-brown colour and does not fluoresce under ultraviolet light. ''Pyrenula celaticarpa'' grows on smooth bark in undisturbed Atlantic rainforests and is only known to occur in Brazil. This species is distinguished by its deeply immersed ascomata, which are only visible by the red or brown ostioles, and its unusual orange-brown thallus reaction. It is part of a group of anthraquinone-containing species around the type species ''

Pyrenula nitida ''Pyrenula nitida'' is a species of crustose lichen belonging to the family Pyrenulaceae. It has a cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of ...

''. Similar species include '' P. rubsrostoma'' and '' P. rubrostigma'', both of which have superficial, conical ascomata.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q108307107 celaticarpa Lichen species Lichens described in 2014 Lichens of Northeast Brazil Taxa named by André Aptroot Taxa named by Marcela Cáceres

See also

References