''Circinaria mansourii'' is a species of

terricolous A terricolous lichen is a lichen that grows on the soil as a substrate. Examples include some members of the genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classificati ...

(ground-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

Megasporaceae Megasporaceae are a family of fungi belonging to the order Pertusariales. Taxa are lichenized with green algae, and grow on rocks, often in maritime climates close to fresh water. Phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the ...

. It is primarily found on soil or plant debris in Iran, particularly in the mountainous

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

-like habitats. It was described as new to science in 2011.

Taxonomy

''Circinaria mansourii'' was first described by lichenologist Mohammad Sohrabi in 2011, as ''Aspicilia mansourii''. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

was discovered in

Golestan National Park Golestan National Park (), commonly known as the Golestan Jungle (), is an Iranian National Park in Golestan Province, northeastern Iran. Geography The park is located in the eastern Alborz (Elburs) Mountains range and the western edge of the ...

, in the region between Mirzabaylou and Almeh valley, at an altitude of . Due to morphological similarities, the author initially suggested a close relationship to the terricolous North American species '' Aspicilia californica'' and '' A. filiformis''. This species is named in honour of

Reza Mansouri Reza Mansouri (, born in 1948) is an Iranian physicist and astronomer and a retired professor of physics at Sharif University of Technology. His main research interest is cosmology, Gravity, gravitation and general relativity. As an author he had ...

, an Iranian physicist who has made significant contributions to the development of science in Iran. In 2013, Sohrabi transferred the

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

to the genus '' Circinaria'' following

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analysis.

Description

The

thallus Thallus (: 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. A thallus usually names the entir ...

of ''Circinaria mansourii'' is terricolous, growing on soil or plant debris and forming small patches up to wide. The are more or less stringy, continuous, warty, and , with a surface that is white- and smooth to roughened. The is

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

and , with unicellular cells distributed in a regular to irregular layer. The lower surface of the thallus is white to pale yellow or dark grey to ochraceous. No

apothecia An ascocarp, or ascoma (: ascomata), 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. As ...

or have been observed in this species. Secondary chemistry includes aspicilin and an unknown

fatty acid In chemistry, in particular in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated and unsaturated compounds#Organic chemistry, saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an ...

, and the thallus displays negative reactions to K, C, and P chemical spot tests in both

medulla Medulla (Latin for "marrow") or medullary may refer to: Science * Medulla oblongata, a part of the brain stem * Renal medulla, a part of the kidney * Adrenal medulla, a part of the adrenal gland * Medulla of ovary, a stroma in the center of the ...

and .

Habitat and distribution

''Circinaria mansourii'' has been found on

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcare ...

soil and dead plant debris, often growing on dead tufts of ''

Poa bulbosa ''Poa bulbosa'' is a species of grass known by the common names bulbous bluegrass or bulbous meadow-grass. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa, but it is present practically worldwide as an introduced species. It is widespread in the United ...

'' and other

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

grasses. It is known to inhabit open mountain areas with

-like habitats, and has so far only been recorded in Iran. In addition to the type collection from Golestan National Park, it has also been reported to occur in

East Azerbaijan province East Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Tabriz. The province is located in Azerbaijan (Iran), Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armenia, the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Ardabil pro ...

. It is one of the dominant lichen species in the

biological soil crust Biological soil crusts, often abbreviated as biocrusts, are communities of living organisms inhabiting the surface of soils in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, which form stable aggregates of soil particles in a thin layer millimeters to centimeters ...

communities of the arid ecosystems of the Iranian '' Artemisia'' steppes.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107568484, from2=Q18352532 Lichen species Lichens described in 2011 Lichens of Western Asia Megasporaceae