''Zhurbenkoa'' is a genus of

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

Malmideaceae Malmideaceae is a family of crustose and corticolous lichens in the order Lecanorales. It contains eight genera and about 70 species. Taxonomy Malmideaceae was created in 2011 to accommodate a group of species, formerly placed in genus ''Malcolm ...

. It has three species. 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 2019 by Adam Flakus, Javier Etayo, Sergio Pérez-Ortega, and Pamela Rodriguez-Flakus, with ''

Zhurbenkoa epicladonia ''Zhurbenkoa'' is a genus of lichenicolous fungi in the family Malmideaceae. It has three species. The genus was circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed in 2019 by Adam Flakus, Javier Etayo, Sergio Pérez-Ortega, and Pamela Rodriguez-Flakus, wi ...

'' assigned as the type species. Closely related genera are ''

Savoronala ''Savoronala'' is a fungal genus in the family Malmideaceae. It is monotypic, containing the single species ''Savoronala madagascariensis''. This lichen produces unique conidia (asexual spores) that each include a single algal cell. Taxonomy B ...

'' and ''

Sprucidea ''Sprucidea'' is a genus of four crustose lichens in the family Malmideaceae. Similar to the related genus ''Malmidea'', ''Sprucidea '' is characterized by frequently red thalli that contain the secondary compound norsolorinic acid, but differs ...

''. The generic name honours Russian lichenologist Mikhail Zhurbenko, "for his magnificent contribution to knowledge on the biodiversity and systematics of lichenicolous fungi, including lichen parasites colonizing ''Cladonia''". ''Zhurbenkoa'' fungi grow on the thalli of species in the widespread lichen genus '' Cladonia''. They produce grayish-brown to almost black apothecia that lack margins, and have crystals interspersed in the epi

hymenium The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in others some ...

Species

*''

Zhurbenkoa cladoniarum ''Zhurbenkoa'' is a genus of lichenicolous fungi in the family Malmideaceae. It has three species. The genus was circumscribed in 2019 by Adam Flakus, Javier Etayo, Sergio Pérez-Ortega, and Pamela Rodriguez-Flakus, with ''Zhurbenkoa epicladonia' ...

'' – Brazil *''

'' – Europe; South America *''

Zhurbenkoa latispora ''Zhurbenkoa'' is a genus of lichenicolous fungi in the family Malmideaceae. It has three species. The genus was circumscribed in 2019 by Adam Flakus, Javier Etayo, Sergio Pérez-Ortega, and Pamela Rodriguez-Flakus, with ''Zhurbenkoa epicladonia' ...

'' – South America

References

Malmideaceae Lecanorales genera Taxa described in 2019 Lichenicolous fungi Taxa named by Adam Grzegorz Flakus {{Lecanorales-stub