''Graphium samogiticum'' is a little-known species of lichenicolous (
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.fungus in the family Microascaceae. It is found in
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
PlungÄ— District
Plungė (; Samogitian: ''Plongė'') is a city in Lithuania with 17,252 inhabitants. Plungė is known for Plungė Manor and its park, Samogitian Art Museum. In the Oginskiai manor park stands the Perkūnas oak a natural monument. The Lourdes of P ...
); there, in an abandoned gravel pit in Žalnierkalnis, the fungus was found growing on the thallus of the crustose lichen '' Verrucaria bryoctona'', which itself was growing on gravelly soil. The
species epithet Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany)
A botanical name ...
refers to the
type locality
Type locality may refer to:
* Type locality (biology)
* Type locality (geology)
See also
* Local (disambiguation)
* Locality (disambiguation)
{{disambiguation ...
: ''samogiticum'' is formed from the Latin name for Žemaitija ('' Samogitia'').
Description
''Graphium samogiticum'' is an anamorphic fungus, meaning that its sexual cycle has not been observed, or does not exist–only asexual and
vegetative
Vegetative describes vegetation. Vegetative may also refer to:
*Vegetative reproduction
Vegetative reproduction (also known as vegetative propagation, vegetative multiplication or cloning) is any form of asexual reproduction occurring in ...
phases are known. The conidiophores made by the fungus are grouped together in black synnemata that are 80–120
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 ...
high and 25 μm thick. The thick-walled
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 ...
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 ...
that have a strict host preference on genus ''
Verrucaria
''Verrucaria'' is a genus of lichenized (lichen-forming) fungi in the family Verrucariaceae.
Taxonomy
The genus was circumscribed by German botanist Heinrich Adolph Schrader in 1794, with '' Verrucaria rupestris'' assigned as the type species. I ...
'', ''Graphium samogiticum'' is the only anamorphic fungus. Little is known about the ecology and distribution of ''Graphium samogiticum''; the lichens it was parasitising are inhabitants of a little-studied habitat the authors call a " pioneerepigeal community". They suggest it may have a more widespread European distribution.