''Gyalecta ancistrospora'' is a species of

saxicolous 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 ...

(rock-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

Gyalectaceae The Gyalectaceae are a family of fungi in the order Gyalectales. Genera According to a 2022 estimate, Gyalectaceae contains 6 genera and 89 species (including 11 species in genus ''Cryptolechia''). *'' Francisrosea'' – 1 sp. *''Gyalecta '' ...

. Found in Korea, 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 ...

as a new species in 2014 by lichenologists

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 Kwang-Hee Moon. 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 by the first author from Mount Juwang (

Cheongsong County Cheongsong County (or Cheongsong-gun; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, county in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Administrative divisions Cheongsong is divided into 1 eup and 7 myeon. Climate Cheongsong has a humid cont ...

North Gyeongsang Province North Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in eastern South Korea, and with an area of , it is the largest province in the Korean peninsula. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remaine ...

) at an altitude between ; there, it was found growing on

siliceous rock Siliceous rocks are sedimentary rocks that have silica (SiO2) as the principal constituent. The most common siliceous rock is chert; other types include diatomite. They commonly form from silica-secreting organisms such as radiolarians, diatoms, o ...

. It is only known to occur in this area, where it grows on boulders shaded by trees in forest.

Description

The lichen has a thin, pale greenish-grey, crust-like

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 covers areas of up to about . The

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

partner is trebouxioid (spherical, unicellular

green alga The green algae (: green alga) are a group of chlorophyll-containing autotrophic eukaryotes consisting of the phylum Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister group that contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/ Streptophyta. The land plants ( ...

e). The

ascomata An ascocarp, or ascoma (: ascomata), is the fruiting body (sporocarp (fungi), sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded ascus, asci, each of which typically contains four to ...

are

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

, and measure 0.3–0.6 mm in diameter; they have a flat, dull orange disc with a pale pinkish-orange margin. All chemical spot tests are negative, and no

lichen products Lichen products, also known as lichen substances, are organic compounds produced by a lichen. Specifically, they are secondary metabolites. Lichen products are represented in several different chemical classes, including terpenoids, orcinol deriv ...

were detected using

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 ...

. The main characteristic that distinguishes ''Gyalecta ancistrospora'' from other ''

Gyalecta ''Gyalecta'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Gyalectaceae that contains 50 species. ''Gyalecta'' was circumscribed by lichenologist Erik Acharius in 1808. It forms associations with Trentepohlia algae. Selected species , Speci ...

'' species is the presence of spindle-shaped (''fusiform'')

ascospore In fungi, an ascospore is the sexual spore formed inside an ascus—the sac-like cell that defines the division Ascomycota, the largest and most diverse Division (botany), division of fungi. After two parental cell nucleus, nuclei fuse, the ascu ...

s that have a long attenuated tail at the lower end. The spores, which have three

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 ...

that divide it into four chambers, measure 30–41 by 3.5–4

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 ...

. The lichen is otherwise similar in appearance to other saxicolous members of its genus, particularly '' G. jenensis'' and '' G. ulleungdoensis''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107711407 Gyalectales Lichen species Lichens described in 2014 Taxa named by André Aptroot Lichens of Eastern Asia