''Verrucaria'' 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 ...

of lichenized (

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

in the family

Verrucariaceae The Verrucariaceae are a family of mostly lichenised fungi in the order Verrucariales. The lichen-forming species, which comprise the vast majority of the family, have a wide variety of thallus forms, and include crustose (crust-like), foliose ( ...

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 ...

by German botanist

Heinrich Adolph Schrader Heinrich Adolf Schrader (1 January 1767 in Alfeld near Hildesheim – 22 October 1836 in Göttingen) was a German botanist and mycologist. He studied medicine early in life. He named the Australian plant genus ''Hakea'' in 1797. In 1795 he re ...

in 1794, with '' Verrucaria rupestris'' assigned as 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 ...

. In his brief diagnosis of the genus, Schrader mentioned the more or less spherical (''subglobose''), closed ascomata, and the

crustose Crustose is a habit of some types of algae and lichens in which the organism grows tightly appressed to a substrate, forming a biological layer. ''Crustose'' adheres very closely to the substrates at all points. ''Crustose'' is found on rocks and ...

thallus. The genus name is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''verruca'' (meaning "wart") and the suffix ''-aria'' (meaning "belonging to" or "possession").

Ecology

As of 2015, there were 16 ''Verrucaria'' species classified as

marine species Marine life, sea life, or ocean life is the plants, animals and other organisms that live in the salt water of seas or oceans, or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. At a fundamental level, marine life affects the nature of the planet. ...

: '' V. adguttata'', '' V. allantoidea'', '' V. ceuthocarpa'', '' V. corallensi'', '' V. ditmarsica'', '' V. erichsenii'', '' V. halizoa'', '' V. halochlora'', '' V. microsporoides'', '' V. paulula'', '' V. psychrophila'', '' V. sandstedei'', '' V. serpuloides'', '' V. sessilis'', '' V. subdiscreta'', and '' V. thalassina''.

Species

* ''

Verrucaria ahtii ''Verrucaria ahtii'' is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It is found in Finland, Lithuania, Russia, and Switzerland, where it occurs on calcareous pebbles. Taxonomy The lichen was formally ...

'' – Finland * '' Verrucaria kiyosumiensis'' – Japan * ''

Verrucaria nigrescens ''Verrucaria nigrescens'' is a widespread species of crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It was first species description, formally described as a new species by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1795. The lichen produces a very dark brown ...

'' – widespread * ''

Verrucaria oulankaensis ''Verrucaria oulankaensis'' is a rare species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It is found in north-eastern Finland, where it occurs on calcareous rocks on river shores. Taxonomy The lichen was forma ...

'' – Finland * '' Verrucaria rhizicola'' – France * '' Verrucaria rupestris'' * ''

Verrucaria serpuloides ''Verrucaria serpuloides'' is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen belonging to the family Verrucariaceae. It is native to the Antarctic Peninsula. It is one of only two permanently submerged species of lichen, the other being ...

'' – a permanently submerged marine lichen in Antarctica * '' Verrucaria takagoensis'' – Japan * ''

Verrucaria vitikainenii ''Verrucaria vitikainenii'' is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It is found in Finland, where it occurs on calcareous rock outcrops. Taxonomy The lichen was formally described as a new spe ...

'' – Finland

Distribution

''Verrucaria ditmarsica'' has been recorded in 1984 from the Lighthouse Island,

Copeland Island The Copeland Islands is a group of three islands in the north Irish Sea, north of Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland, consisting of Lighthouse Island (also known as Old Island), Copeland Island (also known as Big Island), and Mew Island. ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

.Morton, O. 1988. Lichens on Lighthouse Island. Copeland Bird Observatory Annual Report for 1986 p.44

References

Eurotiomycetes genera Lichen genera Taxa described in 1794 Taxa named by Heinrich Schrader (botanist) {{Eurotiomycetes-stub

Taxonomy

Ecology

Species

Distribution

See also

References