''Cryptothecia albomaculatella'' 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),

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

Arthoniaceae The Arthoniaceae are a family (biology), family of lichenized, Lichenicolous fungus, lichenicolous and saprobic fungi in the order Arthoniales. The Arthoniaceae is the largest family of Arthoniales, with around 800 species. Most species in Arthon ...

. It is a common lichen species in Thailand, and has also been recorded from

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

, India.

Taxonomy

It was

formally described A species description is a formal scientific description of a newly encountered species, typically articulated through a scientific publication. Its purpose is to provide a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differ ...

in 2009 by the lichenologist

André Aptroot André Aptroot ( Heemskerk, 1961) is a Dutch mycologist and lichenologist. His primary research focus is on biodiversity, particularly tropical lichens, encompassing systematics, floristic surveys, and taxonomic reviews. A prolific research ...

and the botanist

Pat Wolseley Pat Wolseley is a botanist and illustrator, specialising in 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 an ...

. 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 Khlong Plou, Kapou Kapiang station (

Uthai Thani province Uthai Thani (, ), one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat'') lies in lower northern Thailand. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Nakhon Sawan, Chai Nat, Suphan Buri, Kanchanaburi and Tak. It lies somewhat off th ...

Description

Its

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 ...

is up to in diameter and 0.1–0.2 mm thick, and is and pale yellowish in colour. Instead of making discrete sexual reproductive structures like

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 ...

, this lichen instead has an "ascigerous zone", a region on the thallus where asci (spore-bearing cells) are located. This zone, slightly elevated in comparison to the rest of the thallus, has a roughly circular to irregular outline, and is covered with white . When the ascigerous zone is abraded, conspicuous black spots are revealed–these are the asci, which are (shaped like an inverted pear). The , which number 6 to 8 per ascus, are (divided into compartments or locules by intersecting longitudinal and transverse

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

), and measure 50–65 by 22–29

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 ...

. It contains the substances

barbatic acid Barbatic acid is an organic compound that is made by some lichens. It is in the structural class known as depsides. It is particularly common in the genera ''Usnea'' (the beard lichens) and ''Cladonia''. History The compound was first isolated i ...

and obtusatic acid. ''Cryptothecia albomaculatella'' is somewhat similar in appearance to '' Cryptothecia albomaculans'', found in the

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago, made up of 200 islands, in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a mari ...

, but this species has slightly smaller ascospores (47–57 by 24–30 μm) and different chemistry (containing 2'-''O''-methylperlatolic acid).

Distribution

In addition to the province of its type locality, Uthai Thani, ''Cryptothecia albomaculatella'' has also been documented from the

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai, sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, second largest city in Thailan ...

and

Lampang Lampang, also called Nakhon Lampang (; , ) to differentiate from Lampang province, is the third largest city in northern Thailand and capital of Lampang province and the Mueang Lampang district. Traditional names for Lampang include Wiang Lak ...

provinces of Thailand, and in 2019 was reported from the

Dima Hasao district Dima Hasao district (), is an administrative district in the state of Assam, India. As of 2011, it is the least populous district of Assam. Dima Hasao district is one of two autonomous hill districts of Assam. The district headquarters Haflong ...

, India. ''C. albomaculatella'' is one of 13 ''

Cryptothecia ''Cryptothecia'' is a genus of white to greenish crustose lichens that grow on bark, wood, or leaves, in tropical or subtropical areas worldwide. It has a conspicuous prothallus that develops around its periphery which can be bright red in some s ...

'' species found in Thailand, and is one of the most common lichen species in Thailand.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107607661 albomaculatella Lichen species Lichens described in 2009 Lichens of India Lichens of Thailand Taxa named by André Aptroot Taxa named by Pat Wolseley