''Kurokawia'' is a

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 ...

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 ...

-forming

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

in the family

Physciaceae The Physciaceae are a family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. A 2016 estimate placed 19 genera and 601 species in the family. Description The Physiaceae family includes various ...

. It has seven species of

foliose lichen A foliose lichen is a lichen with flat, leaf-like , which are generally not firmly bonded to the substrate on which it grows. It is one of the three most common growth forms of lichens. It typically has distinct upper and lower surfaces, each o ...

s. The genus,

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 2021, has ''Kurokawia isidiata'' as the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

Taxonomy

The lichen genus ''Kurokawia'' was named in honour of Japanese lichenologist Syo Kurokawa (1926–2010), who authored a world

monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

on the genus ''

Anaptychia ''Anaptychia'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Physciaceae. ''Anaptychia'' species are foliose (leafy) to fruticose (bushy) lichens. They have brown, thin-walled spores with a single septum, and a upper . Taxonomy The genus wa ...

''. The genus is distinct from ''Anaptychia'', despite certain resemblances, primarily in its upper layer. The type species of ''Kurokawia'' is '' Kurokawia isidiata''. A total of six species were initially acknowledged members of the genus based on combined

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

analyses. An additional species was transferred to ''Kurokawia'' from ''Anaptychia'' in 2022.

Description

''Kurokawia'' is discernible by its

foliose A foliose lichen is a lichen with flat, leaf-like , which are generally not firmly bonded to the substrate on which it grows. It is one of the three most common lichen growth forms, growth forms of lichens. It typically has distinct upper and lo ...

(leafy)

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 ...

which is closely affixed to the . When dry, the upper surface has hues ranging from light to dark brown but transitions to a dull olive green when moist. In contrast, the genus ''Anaptychia'' has typically lacked a well-formed lower cortex or possesses a poorly developed one. Characteristically, ''Kurokawia'' has simple, sparsely branched

rhizine In lichens, rhizines are multicellular root-like structures arising mainly from the lower surface. A lichen with rhizines is termed rhizinate, while a lichen lacking rhizines is termed erhizinate. Rhizines serve only to anchor the lichen to their s ...

s and shorter . In addition, it does not have the pale grey-white lateral or observed on the upper surface of some ''Anaptychia'' species. The distinction between ''Kurokawia'' and the two groups within ''Anaptychia'' – the ''

Anaptychia ciliaris ''Anaptychia ciliaris'', commonly known as the great ciliated lichen or eagle's claws, is a species of fruticose lichen in the family Physciaceae. It is predominantly found in Northern Europe, with its species distribution, range extending to ...

'' group and the

section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

''Protoanaptychia'' – hinges on aspects like thallus type, the presence of a lower cortical layer, and unique morphological features.

Habitat and distribution

Endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to various global regions, ''Kurokawia'' thrives on hard coastal rocks, on turf, soil, and occasionally on tree bark, especially along pathways. The species ''Kurokawia isidiata'' is notably present in East Asia and extends to North America, specifically in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. In the Mediterranean region, ''K. runcinata'' has been identified, while both ''K. bryorum'' and ''K. palmulata'' are sparsely found in the Northern Hemisphere.

Species

Species Fungorum ''Index Fungorum'' is an international project to index all formal names (Binomial nomenclature, scientific names) in the fungus Kingdom (biology), kingdom. As of 2015, the project is based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, one of three partn ...

(in the

Catalogue of Life The Catalogue of Life (CoL) is an online database that provides an index of known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It was created in 2001 as a partnership between the global Species 2000 and the American Integrated Taxono ...

) accepts seven species of ''Kurokawia''. * '' Kurokawia bryorum'' * '' Kurokawia isidiata'' * '' Kurokawia mereschkowskii'' * '' Kurokawia palmulata'' * '' Kurokawia pseudoroemeri'' * ''

Kurokawia runcinata ''Kurokawia'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Physciaceae. It has seven species of foliose lichens. The genus, circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed in 2021, has ''Kurokawia isidiata'' as the type species. Taxonomy The lic ...

'' * '' Kurokawia stippaea''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q122875774 Caliciales Caliciales genera Lichen genera Taxa described in 2021 Taxa named by Sergey Kondratyuk Taxa named by László Sándor Lőkös Taxa named by Jae-Seoun Hur