''Sclerococcum'' is a

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 ...

lichenicolous fungi A lichenicolous fungus is a parasitic fungus that only lives on lichen as the host. A lichenicolous fungus is not the same as the fungus that is the component of the lichen, which is known as a lichenized fungus. They are most commonly specific to ...

in the family Dactylosporaceae.

Taxonomy

The genus was

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 polyg ...

in 1825 by

Elias Magnus Fries Elias Magnus Fries (15 August 1794 – 8 February 1878) was a Swedish mycologist and botanist. Career Fries was born at Femsjö (Hylte Municipality), Småland, the son of the pastor there. He attended school in Växjö. He acquired ...

. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

is '' Sclerococcum sphaerale'', originally described in 1814 by

Erik Acharius Erik Acharius (10 October 1757 – 14 August 1819) was a Swedish botanist who pioneered the taxonomy of lichens and is known as the "father of lichenology." Acharius was famously the last pupil of Carl Linnaeus. Life Acharius was born in ...

(as ''Spiloma sphaerale''). This fungus is a

lichenicolous A lichenicolous fungus is a parasitic fungus that only lives on lichen as the host. A lichenicolous fungus is not the same as the fungus that is the component of the lichen, which is known as a lichenized fungus. They are most commonly specific to ...

hyphomycete Hyphomycetes are a form classification of fungi, part of what has often been referred to as fungi imperfecti, Deuteromycota, or anamorphic fungi. Hyphomycetes lack closed fruit bodies, and are often referred to as moulds (or molds). Most hyphom ...

– a mould that lives on a

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.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 published in 2012 showed that ''Sclerococcum sphaerale'' grouped together in a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

with species of ''Dactylospora'' in the class

Eurotiomycetes Eurotiomycetes is a large class of ascomycetes with cleistothecial ascocarps within the subphylum Pezizomycotina, currently containing around 3810 species according to the Catalogue of Life. It is the third largest lichen A lichen ( , ) is ...

. In 2016, Réblová and colleagues proposed a new family Sclerococcaceae in a new order (Sclerococcales) to accommodate the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal f ...

''Sclerococcum'', ''Dactylospora'', '' Rhopalophora'', three strains of

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

-associated fungi, and an isolate of '' Fusichalara minuta''. This classification was not accepted in the 2017 ''Outline of the Ascomycota'', which retained the family Dactylosporaceae.

Species

*''

Sclerococcum acarosporae ''Sclerococcum'' is a genus of lichenicolous fungi in the family Dactylosporaceae. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed in 1825 by Elias Magnus Fries. The type species is '' Sclerococcum sphaerale'', originally described in 1814 by Erik Acha ...

'' *'' Sclerococcum acarosporicola'' *'' Sclerococcum aeruginosum'' *'' Sclerococcum ahtii'' *'' Sclerococcum allantoideum'' *'' Sclerococcum amygdalariae'' *''

Sclerococcum anziae ''Sclerococcum'' is a genus of lichenicolous fungi in the family Dactylosporaceae. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed in 1825 by Elias Magnus Fries. The type species is '' Sclerococcum sphaerale'', originally described in 1814 by Erik Acha ...

'' *'' Sclerococcum aptrootii'' *''

Sclerococcum areolatum ''Sclerococcum'' is a genus of lichenicolous fungi in the family Dactylosporaceae. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed in 1825 by Elias Magnus Fries. The type species is '' Sclerococcum sphaerale'', originally described in 1814 by Erik Acha ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Macaronesia Macaronesia (Portuguese: ''Macaronésia,'' Spanish: ''Macaronesia'') is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic, off the coasts of Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of List of islands in the At ...

*'' Sclerococcum olivaceum'' *'' Sclerococcum ophthalmizae'' *'' Sclerococcum orygmaeum'' *'' Sclerococcum parasitaster'' *''

Sclerococcum parasiticum ''Sclerococcum'' is a genus of lichenicolous fungi in the family Dactylosporaceae. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed in 1825 by Elias Magnus Fries. The type species is '' Sclerococcum sphaerale'', originally described in 1814 by Erik Acha ...

Sclerococcum stygium ''Sclerococcum'' is a genus of lichenicolous fungi in the family Dactylosporaceae. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed in 1825 by Elias Magnus Fries. The type species is '' Sclerococcum sphaerale'', originally described in 1814 by Erik Acha ...

'' *'' Sclerococcum suburceolatum'' *'' Sclerococcum tegularum'' *'' Sclerococcum tephromelarum'' *'' Sclerococcum thelotrematicola'' *'' Sclerococcum toensbergii'' *'' Sclerococcum urceolatum'' *'' Sclerococcum verrucisporum'' *'' Sclerococcum verruculosum'' *'' Sclerococcum vrijmoediae''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10664063 Lecanorales Lecanorales genera Lichenicolous fungi Taxa described in 1819 Taxa named by Elias Magnus Fries