''Ertzia'' is a

monospecific In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Lepidostromataceae (the only

within the fungal

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Lepidostromatales). The sole species is ''Ertzia akagerae'', a

basidiolichen Basidiolichens are lichenized members of the Division (taxonomy), division Basidiomycota within the subkingdom Dikarya of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Fungus, Fungi. They form a diverse yet much smaller group of lichens than the far more commo ...

. The genus was circumscribed in 2014 by Brendan Hodkinson and

Robert Lücking Robert Lücking (born 1964) is a German lichenologist, known for his extensive research on foliicolous lichens (lichens that live on leaves) and his significant contributions to the taxonomy, ecology, and biodiversity of fungi and lichens. He e ...

. ''Ertzia'' is distinguished from all other

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 ...

ized

clavarioid fungi The clavarioid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota typically having erect, simple or branched basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the ground, on decaying vegetation, or on dead wood. They are colloquially called club fungi a ...

(''

Multiclavula ''Multiclavula'' is a genus of basidiolichens in the family Hydnaceae. The widespread genus contains 14 species.Reschke, K., Lotz-Winter, H., Fischer, C.W., Hofmann, T.A., Piepenbring, M., 2021. New and interesting species of Agaricomycetes from ...

'' (''

Cantharellales The Cantharellales are an order (biology), order of fungi in the class (biology), class Agaricomycetes. The order includes not only the chanterelles (Cantharellaceae), but also some of the tooth fungi (Hydnaceae), clavarioid fungi (Aphelariaceae ...

''), ''

Lepidostroma ''Lepidostroma'' is a genus in the family Lepidostromataceae (the only family within the fungal order Lepidostromatales). The genus is distinguished from all other lichenized clavarioid fungi (''Multiclavula'' (''Cantharellales''), '' Ertzia'' ...

'' ('' Lepidostromatales''), and ''

Sulzbacheromyces ''Sulzbacheromyces'' is a genus of basidiolichens in the family (biology), family Lepidostromataceae (the only family within the fungi, fungal order (biology), order Lepidostromatales). The genus is distinguished from the other genera of Lepidost ...

'' ('' Lepidostromatales'')) by having a microsquamulose

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 ...

that forms contiguous glomerules (reminiscent of a ' Botrydina-type' thallus) with a

cortex Cortex or cortical may refer to: Biology * Cortex (anatomy), the outermost layer of an organ ** Cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the vertebrate cerebrum, part of which is the ''forebrain'' *** Motor cortex, the regions of the cerebral cortex i ...

of jigsaw puzzle-shaped cells. ''Ertzia akagerae'' grows on soil in the African tropics.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Ertzia'' was established by Brendan P. Hodkinson and

in 2014, with ''E. akagerae'' as its

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

, and only, species. The genus name honours the lichenologist Damien Ertz for his important contributions to the understanding of lichenized fungi evolution and classification. The type species was originally described as ''Multiclavula akagerae'' by Fischer and colleagues in 2007, then transferred to ''Lepidostroma'' as ''L. akagerae'' in 2008, before being designated as the type of the new genus ''Ertzia'' in 2014. 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 in April 2005 from the foot of Mt. Mutumba in

Akagera National Park Akagera National Park is a protected area in eastern Rwanda covering along the international border with Tanzania. It was founded in 1934 and includes savannah, montane and swamp habitats. The park is named for the Kagera River which flows along ...

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

, and is housed at the National Botanic Garden of Belgium (BR), with isotypes at KOBL and LG.

Description

''Ertzia'' is characterized by its microsquamulose thallus composed of distinct, contiguous glomerules (rounded clusters). A distinctive feature of the genus is its , which is formed by a layer of colourless (

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from , and . Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is named after its glassy appearance on fresh gross pathology. On light microscopy of H&E stained slides, the extracellula ...

) cells that resemble pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. This cortical structure distinguishes it from ''

'' sensu stricto and is somewhat similar to features found in some unrelated lichen genera such as ''

Cora Cora may refer to: Science * ''Cora'' (fungus), a genus of lichens * ''Cora'' (damselfly), a genus of damselflies * CorA metal ion transporter, a Mg2+ influx system People * Cora (name), a given name and surname * Cora E. (born 1968), German h ...

'' and ''

Dictyonema ''Dictyonema'' is a genus of mainly tropical basidiolichens in the family Hygrophoraceae. The ''Dictyonema'' symbiosis Most lichens are a symbiosis between an ascomycota, ascomycete fungus and a photosynthetic green alga. However, a small perc ...

'', though these belong to a different order (

Agaricales The Agaricales are an order (biology), order of fungi in the division (mycology), division Basidiomycota. As originally conceived, the order contained all the agarics (gilled mushrooms), but subsequent research has shown that not all agarics are ...

). The reproductive structures ( basidiomata) are club-shaped (clavarioid) and typically unbranched, though very rare branching may occur. The spores (

basidiospore A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by basidiomycete fungi, a grouping that includes mushrooms, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromos ...

s) are

ovoid An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas of mathematics (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.), it is given a more precise definition, which may inc ...

in shape. While superficially similar to the ''Botrydina''-type thallus found in genera such as ''

'', '' Semiomphalina'', and some '' Lichenomphalia'' species, ''Ertzia'' can be distinguished by its larger and distinctive jigsaw puzzle-shaped rather than isodiametric-angular cortical cells.

References

{{Taxonbar , from1=Q16981733 , from2=Q54371219 , from3=Q59507165 , from4=Q107975345 Lepidostromatales Basidiolichens Lichen genera Monotypic Basidiomycota genera Taxa described in 2014 Taxa named by Robert Lücking Taxa named by Brendan Paul Hodkinson