Arthoniomycetes are a
class of
ascomycete 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 ...
. It includes two orders:
Arthoniales
The Arthoniales is the second largest order of mainly crustose lichens, but fruticose lichens are present as well. The order contains around 1500 species, while the largest order with lichenized fungi, the Lecanorales, contains more than 14000 s ...
and
Lichenostigmatales.
Most of the taxa in these orders are tropical and
subtropical lichens.
Systematics
Phylogenetic
In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...
analysis supports the
monophyly
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
of this class.
is a sister group.
Characteristics
Taxa have apothecia, cup- or saucer- shaped ascoma in which the
hymenium is exposed at maturity. These apothecia are bitunicate - with clearly differentiated inner and outer walls.
References
Fungus classes
Lichen classes
Taxa described in 1997
{{Arthoniomycetes-stub