''Astrothelium valsoides'' is a species of lichen in the family

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 Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2017 by Marcela Eugenia da Silva Cáceres 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 l ...

. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular 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 anchor or centralizes the ...

was collected by the authors along a trail near a

field station Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct fi ...

in the

Adolfo Ducke Forest Reserve Adolfo Ducke Forest Reserve (Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke) is a protected section of the Amazon rainforest within the city of Manaus, Brazil. The reserve was established in 1963 in honour of the entomologist and botanist Adolfo Ducke (Octo ...

( Manaus); here it was found growing on tree bark in

old-growth An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological feature ...

rainforest. The lichen has a dull olive-green

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 ...

lacking a prothallus, with spherical to pear-shaped

ascomata An ascocarp, or ascoma (), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. Ascocarps are mo ...

that are immersed in the thallus surface (up to 2 mm deep), and typically arranged in groups of 3 to 15. The

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 o ...

s number eight per

ascus 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 o ...

, are

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

, usually have 13 to 15

septa The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates transit bus, bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people ...

, measure 69–80 by 15–17

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 Uni ...

, and have a gelatinous sheath. 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 groups of ascomata that are arranged in a way similar to those in genus ''

Valsa ''Valsa'' is a genus of fungi within the family Valsaceae. There are about 70 species in the widespread genus. Anamorphs are classified in the genus '' Cytospora''. Species *''Valsa abietis'' *'' Valsa abrupta'' *'' Valsa ambiens'' *'' Valsa au ...

''.

References

valsoides Lichen species Lichens described in 2017 Lichens of North Brazil Taxa named by André Aptroot Taxa named by Marcela Cáceres {{Dothideomycetes-stub