''Clavascidium'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
of
lichens in the family
Verrucariaceae
The Verrucariaceae are a family of mostly lichenised fungi in the order Verrucariales. The lichen-forming species, which comprise the vast majority of the family, have a wide variety of thallus forms, and include crustose (crust-like), foliose ( ...
.
The genus was
circumscribed
In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius.
Not every po ...
in 1996 by Austrian lichenologist Othmar Breuss.
Because the
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
of the genus, ''Clavascidium umbrinum'', has been shown using
molecular phylogenetics
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 ...
to belong to genus ''
Placidium
''Placidium'' is a genus of crustose to squamulose to almost foliose lichens. The genus is in the family Verrucariaceae. Most members grow on soil (are terricolous), but some grow on rock ( saxicolous). The fruiting bodies are perithecia, flas ...
'',
Cécile Gueidan
Cécile Gueidan is a mycologist and lichenologist who applies morphological and molecular biological methods to the origin and taxonomy of fungi that live in lichen symbioses and within rocks.
Early life and education
Gueidan began working o ...
and colleagues proposed to unite ''Clavascidium'' with ''Placidium'' in a 2009 publication.
Despite this, the genus has been retained in recent publications of fungal classification.
Species
*''
Clavascidium antillarum''
*''
Clavascidium imitans''
*''
Clavascidium kisovense''
*''
Clavascidium krylovianum''
*''
Clavascidium lacinulatum''
*''
Clavascidium pseudorufescens''
*''
Clavascidium semaforonense''
*''
Clavascidium sinense''
– China
A couple of species once proposed for inclusion in this genus are now classified in other genera:
*''Clavascidium liratum'' is now ''
Anthracocarpon virescens''
*''Clavascidium umbrinum'' is now ''
Placidium umbrinum''.
A proposed generic transfer of ''Catapyrenium alvarense'' to ''Clavascidium'' in 2017
was
invalidly published according to
nomenclatural rules.
References
Eurotiomycetes genera
Lichen genera
Verrucariales
{{Eurotiomycetes-stub