''Iqbalia'' is a single-species fungal

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

Teloschistaceae The Teloschistaceae are a large family (biology), family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class (taxonomy), class Lecanoromycetes in the division (botany), division Ascomycota. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, althoug ...

. It contains ''Iqbalia kashmirensis'', a

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 ...

found in

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir ( ), is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Taxonomy

''Iqbalia'' was

circumscribed In geometry, a circumscribed circle for a set of points is a circle passing through each of them. Such a circle is said to ''circumscribe'' the points or a polygon formed from them; such a polygon is said to be ''inscribed'' in the circle. * Circum ...

in 2022 by Iram Fayyaz, Najam Ul Sehar Afshan, and

Sergey Kondratyuk Sergey Yakovlevich Kondratyuk () (born 17 May 1959) is a Ukrainian botanist specialising in lichenology. His research deals with the taxonomy, floristics, ecology and geography of lichens and lichenicolous fungi. He has worked at the for mo ...

. The genus name honours the Pakistani

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

S.H. Iqbal, professor at the

University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (UoP) is a public university, public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1882, its international influence has made it one of the most prestigious universities in South As ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, Pakistan, "in recognition of his contributions to lichen flora of Pakistan". The

species epithet Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany) ...

''kashmirensis'' refers to the type locality. ''Iqbalia'' is in the subfamily Teloschistoideae. On the

phylogenetic tree A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA. In ...

of the family Teloschistaceae, it appears on a

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

branch between the genera '' Stellarangia'' and ''

Kaernefia ''Kaernefia'' is a genus of crustose lichens in the family Teloschistaceae. It has three species, found in Australia or South Africa. Taxonomy ''Kaernefia'' was circumscribed in 2013 by Sergey Kondratyuk, John Elix, Arne Thell, and Jae-Seoun Hu ...

''.

Description

The genus ''Iqbalia shares'' similarities with the Australian genus '' Nevilleiella'', particularly in terms of their

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 ...

(the main body of the lichen) colouration, which ranges from brownish-yellow to orange. Both genera also develop -like formations on the surface of their thallus. However, ''Iqbalia'' can be distinguished by its distinct (small, isolated patches of thallus), which are separate and not clustered together, unlike those in ''Nevilleiella''. Furthermore, ''Iqbalia'' does not form -like formations, a type of structure resembling small, split-off fragments. Another difference lies in the ; when observed in water, the ascospores of ''Iqbalia'' have a wide

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 ...

(an internal dividing partition). This characteristic is distinct from what is observed in ''Nevilleiella''. Chemically, ''Iqbalia'' is unique for containing variolaric acid, a

secondary metabolite Secondary metabolites, also called ''specialised metabolites'', ''secondary products'', or ''natural products'', are organic compounds produced by any lifeform, e.g. bacteria, archaea, fungi, animals, or plants, which are not directly involved ...

(

lichen product 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 deri ...

) not found in ''Nevilleiella''. Additionally, the two genera differ ecologically in their preferred habitats. ''Iqbalia'' typically grows on

calcareous rock Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an adjec ...

s, which are rich in

calcium carbonate Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a common substance found in Rock (geology), rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite, most notably in chalk and limestone, eggshells, gastropod shells, shellfish skel ...

, while ''Nevilleiella'' is more commonly found on soil in desert conditions.

Habitat and distribution

''Iqbalia kashmirensis'' is only known to occur at the type locality in Azad Kashmir. There, at an elevation of , it grows on calcareous rock.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q119110545 , from2=Q119110552 Teloschistales Teloschistales genera Monotypic Lecanoromycetes genera Lichen genera Taxa described in 2022 Taxa named by Sergey Kondratyuk