''Astrothelium bullatum'' is a rare species of corticolous (bark-dwelling)

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Trypetheliaceae The Trypetheliaceae are a family of mainly lichen-forming fungi in the order Trypetheliales. Genera *'' Alloarthopyrenia'' – 1 sp. *''Aptrootia'' – 3 spp. *'' Architrypethelium'' – 8 spp. *''Astrothelium'' – ca. 275 spp. *'' Bathel ...

. Found in Bolivia, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by lichenologists Adam Flakus and

André Aptroot André Aptroot (Heemskerk, 1961) is a Dutch mycologist and lichenologist. In 1993 he did his PhD at the University of Utrecht under the supervision of Robbert Gradstein (nl). His dissertation was titled "Systematic studies on pyrenocarpous li ...

. The type specimen was collected in the

Cotapata National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area Cotapata National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area (''Parque Nacional y Área Natural de Manejo Integrado Cotapata'') is a protected area in the Yungas of La Paz Department, Bolivia. It is situated in the northwest of the department, ...

( La Paz Department) at an altitude of ; there, in a mountainous Yungas

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

, it was found growing on bark. It is only known to occur at the type locality. The lichen has a strongly bullate (convex and swollen) thallus, and it is this feature to which the species epithet ''bullatum'' refers.

References

bullatum Lichen species Lichens described in 2016 Lichens of Bolivia Taxa named by André Aptroot Taxa named by Adam Grzegorz Flakus {{Dothideomycetes-stub