''Cladonia lichexanthonica'' is a rare species of saxicolous (rock-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.Cladoniaceae. Found in
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...
, Brazil, it was formally described as a new species in 2018 by lichenologists
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 ...
and Marcela Eugenia da Silva Cáceres. 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 authors from the
Morro do Pai Inácio
Morro (Spanish and Portuguese for "hill") may refer to:
Buildings
*El Morro mine, Atacama, Chile
*El Morro National Monument, New Mexico
*Morro del Tulcán, pyramid in Popayán, Cauca
*Morro Castle (Havana), fortress in Havana, Cuba
*El Morro de S ...
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
rock in a
transitional forest
Forest transition refers to a geographic theory describing a reversal or turnaround in land-use trends for a given territory from a period of net forest area loss (i.e., deforestation) to a period of net forest area gain. The term "landscape turn ...
. ''Cladonia lichexanthonica'' is only known to occur at the type locality (part of the
Chapada Diamantina
Chapada Diamantina (; Portuguese for the "Diamond Plateau") is a region of Bahia state, in the Northeast of Brazil. This mountain range is known as “Serra do Espinhaço,” in Minas Gerais state, south of Bahia.
Description
The Chapada Dia ...
mountains), and is only known from the type specimen. The lichen has a
squamulose
A squamulose lichen is a lichen that is composed of small, often overlapping "scales" called squamules. If they are raised from the substrate and appear leafy, the lichen may appear to be a foliose lichen, but the underside does not have a "skin ...
(scaley)
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 ...
measuring up to in diameter; this consists of a thick crust comprising individual crowded squamules, pale-olive green to olive brown, measuring 1–5 mm in size. The
specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''lichexanthonica'' refers to the presence of lichexanthone, a
secondary compound
Secondary metabolites, also called specialised metabolites, toxins, secondary products, or natural products, are organic compounds produced by any lifeform, e.g. bacteria, fungi, animals, or plants, which are not directly involved in the norma ...
that was not previously known to occur in genus ''
Cladonia
''Cladonia'' is a genus of moss-like lichens in the family Cladoniaceae. They are the primary food source for reindeer/caribou. ''Cladonia'' species are of economic importance to reindeer-herders, such as the Sami in Scandinavia or the Nenets ...