''Verrucaria vitikainenii'' is a species of
saxicolous (rock-dwelling)
crustose lichen
Crustose lichens are lichens that form a crust which strongly adheres to the Substrate (biology), substrate (soil, rock, tree bark, etc.), making separation from the substrate impossible without destruction. The basic structure of crustose lichen ...
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 ( ...
. It is found in Finland, where it occurs on
calcareous
Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines.
In zoology
''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...
rock
outcrops.
Taxonomy
The lichen was
formally described as a new species in 2017 by Juha Pykälä, Annina Launis, and Leena Myllys. The
type specimen
In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...
was collected by the first author from a
dolomite Dolomite may refer to:
*Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral
*Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock
*Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community
*Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...
rock
outcrop in Kurtinniittykuru (
Hautajärvi
Hautajärvi (also Hautajarvi, Hautajaervi, Hautakyla, Hautakylä, Khautajarvi, and Хаутаярви) is a village in southeast Lapland, Finland, near the border with the Republic of Karelia and the Murmansk Oblast of the Russian Federation. Hau ...
,
Koillismaa
Koillismaa ("North-East Finland") is a subdivision of Northern Ostrobothnia and one of the Sub-regions of Finland since 2009.
Municipalities
* Kuusamo
* Taivalkoski
Geographic region
Koillismaa is also a geographic region, which includes Kuu ...
); there, at an altitude of , it was found growing on pebbles on a steep slope beneath a west-facing rock wall. The
species epithet honours Finnish lichenologist
Orvo Vitikainen, who has, according to the authors, "contributed significantly to the knowledge of taxonomy and biogeography of Finnish lichens".
The type specimen is kept in the collections of the mycological
herbaria of the Botanical Museum of the
Finnish Museum of Natural History
The Finnish Museum of Natural History ( fi, Luonnontieteellinen keskusmuseo, sv, Naturhistoriska centralmuseet), established in 1988, is a research institution under the University of Helsinki in Finland, based in Helsinki, Finland. It is a natur ...
.
Description
The crust-like
thallus
Thallus (plural: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. Many of these organisms wer ...
of ''Verrucaria vitikainenii'' is typically medium to dark brown, with a "fleck-like" consistency that is sometimes poorly developed. It does not have a
prothallus
A prothallus, or prothallium, (from Latin ''pro'' = forwards and Greek ''θαλλος'' (''thallos'') = twig) is usually the gametophyte stage in the life of a fern or other pteridophyte. Occasionally the term is also used to describe the young ...
. The
perithecia are partially immersed in the thallus, and measure 0.2–0.36 mm in diameter, and have an
ostiole
An ''ostiole'' is a small hole or opening through which algae or fungi release their mature spores.
The word is a diminutive of "ostium", "opening".
The term is also used in higher plants, for example to denote the opening of the involuted ...
(pore) that is often inconspicuous. The exciple (the ring-shaped tissue layer surrounding the
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 ...
) is dark brown to black with a diameter of 0.19–0.27 mm. The
asci ASCI or Asci may refer to:
* Advertising Standards Council of India
* Asci, the plural of ascus, in fungal anatomy
* Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative
* American Society for Clinical Investigation
* Argus Sour Crude Index
* Association of ...
contain eight spores and measure about 65–82 by 25–30
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 ...
.
Ascospore
An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera or s ...
s are 21.9–25.6 by 10.9–12.8 μm and lack a (a colorless, often gelatinous enveloping layer).
Habitat and distribution
''Verrucaria vitikainenii'' occurs on calcareous rock outcrops, and may prefer partly shaded habitats. Apart from its main distribution in the
Oulanka
Oulanka National Park ( fi, Oulangan kansallispuisto) is a national park in the Northern Ostrobothnia and Lapland regions of Finland, covering . The park was established in 1956 and was expanded in 1982 and 1989. It borders the Paanajärvi Nati ...
area of northeastern Finland, it is rare in the country, having been recorded once from eastern Finland and one from south-west Finland.
See also
*
List of ''Verrucaria'' species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q108475041
vitikainenii
Lichen species
Lichens described in 2017
Lichens of Northern Europe