''Savoronala'' is a fungal genus in the family Malmideaceae. It is monotypic, containing the single species ''Savoronala madagascariensis''. This lichen produces unique

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 ...

(asexual spores) that each include a single algal cell.

Taxonomy

Both the genus and the specie were described as new in 2013 by Damian Ertz, Eberhard Fischer, Dorothee Killmann, Tahina Razafindrahaja, and

Emmanuël Sérusiaux Emmanuël Sérusiaux (born 3 October 1953) is a Belgian lichenologist. His career, spanning more than four decades, has combined both lichenology research and political aspects of nature conservation. He spent several periods working as a res ...

. The type specimen was collected in Tôlanaro, Madagascar, in a coastal '' Erica''-grassland. It was found growing on the stem of an ''Erica'' shrub. The lichen is known only from the

type locality Type locality may refer to: * Type locality (biology) * Type locality (geology) See also * Local (disambiguation) * Locality (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

. The area it was collected from is under pressure because of habitat destruction, charcoal production, and a nearby giant mine of ilmenite.

Molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analysis showed ''Savoronala'' be part of Malmideaceae, a family

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every po ...

in 2011.

Description

Several features characterize the genus ''Savoronala''. It produces small thalli that are pale

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), g ...

and placodioid ( crustose at the centre and lobed at the periphery). The photobiont partner is chlorococcoid green algae. The lichen makes pale cream

stipes Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

that bear grayish-blue sporodochia at the tips.

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 ...

(asexual spores) are associated and dispersed with an algal cell and later become dark brown.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q102183806 Malmideaceae Monotypic Lecanorales genera Lichen genera Taxa described in 2013 Taxa named by Emmanuël Sérusiaux