''Clypeopyrenis porinoides'' is a species of

corticolous This glossary of mycology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to mycology, the study of fungi. Terms in common with other fields, if repeated here, generally focus on their mycology-specific meaning. Related terms can be found ...

(bark-dwelling)

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

in the family

Pyrenulaceae The Pyrenulaceae are a family of mostly lichenized fungi in the order Pyrenulales. The family was circumscribed by the German botanist Gottlob Ludwig Rabenhorst in 1870. Species in the family have a widespread distribution, but are especially pr ...

. Found in Costa Rica, where it grows primarily on tree trunks and the

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the Canopy (biology), forest ca ...

primary forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...

s, it was described as new to science in 2011. Closely resembling some '' Porina'' species, this lichen is characterised by its light greyish-green surface and distinctive that set it apart from its close relative, ''

Clypeopyrenis microsperma ''Clypeopyrenis'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Pyrenulaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 1991 by Dutch lichenologist André Aptroot, with '' Clypeopyrenis microsperma'' assigned as the type species In International_Cod ...

''.

Taxonomy

''Clypeopyrenis porinoides'' was first described by Harald Komposch, Jesús Ernesto Hernández Maldonado, and Dania Rosabal in 2011. 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 collected from Sán Vito de Coto Brus, Las Cruces Biological Station,

Puntarenas Puntarenas () is a city in the Puntarenas Province, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. As the seat of the Municipality of Puntarenas canton, it is awarded the title of city, which comprises the Puntarenas, Chacarita and El Roble districts. A ...

, Costa Rica at an elevation of . The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''porinoides'' refers to its resemblance to species of '' Porina''.

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 ''Clypeopyrenis porinoides'' is

(growing on bark) and can reach up to in diameter. Its surface is smooth to uneven and light greyish-green in colour. The are wart-shaped, measuring 0.4–0.6 mm in diameter and 0.3–0.4 mm in height. They can be found either solitary or in groups of 2 or 3, completely covered by a thalline layer up to the

ostiole An ''ostiole'' is a small hole or opening through which algae or fungi release their mature spores. The word is a diminutive of wikt:ostium, "ostium", "opening". The term is also used in higher plants, for example to denote the opening of the ...

, giving them a light greyish-green to yellowish-green appearance. Microscopic examination reveals that this species has (club-shaped) asci (40–50 by 6–8

μm The micrometre (Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a unit of length in the International System ...

) and dark brown,

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that can be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional Scaling (geometry), scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a Surface (mathemat ...

ascospores (5–6 by 2.5–3 μm) with rounded ends, a single

septum In biology, a septum (Latin language, Latin for ''something that encloses''; septa) is a wall, dividing a Body cavity, cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate. Examples Hum ...

, and a slight constriction at the septum. No secondary chemical substances were detected in the lichen by

thin-layer chromatography Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is a chromatography technique that separates components in non-volatile mixtures. It is performed on a TLC plate made up of a non-reactive solid coated with a thin layer of adsorbent material. This is called the sta ...

Habitat and distribution

''Clypeopyrenis porinoides'' is known to be found abundantly in the understory of

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

rainforests at mid-elevation, specifically at its type locality, the Las Cruces Biological Station in Costa Rica. Its distribution outside this area remains unknown.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21249360 Pyrenulales Lichen species Lichens described in 2011 Lichens of Central America