''Lecanactis rubra'' is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling),

crustose lichen Crustose lichens are lichens that form a crust which strongly adheres to the substrate (soil, rock, tree bark, etc.), making separation from the substrate impossible without destruction. The basic structure of crustose lichens consists of a cor ...

in the family

Roccellaceae The Roccellaceae are a family of fungi in the order Arthoniomycetes. Most taxa are lichenized with green algae, although some are lichenicolous, growing on other lichens. Genera , Species Fungorum (in the Catalogue of Life) accepts 47 genera ...

. Found in Madagascar, it was formally described as a new species in 2009 by Damien Ertz and

Emmanuël Sérusiaux Emmanuël Sérusiaux (born 3 October 1953) is a Belgian lichenologist. His career, spanning more than four decades, has combined both lichenology research and political aspects of nature conservation. He spent several periods working as a res ...

. The

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

was collected by Sérusiaux from the gorge of

Manambolo ''For the river with the same name, see Manambolo (disambiguation)'' Manambolo is a town and commune ( mg, kaominina) in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Maroantsetra, which is a part of Analanjirofo Region. The population of the commune ...

(

Mahajanga Province Mahajanga was a former province of Madagascar that had an area of 150,023 km². It had a population of 1,896,000 (2004). Its capital was Mahajanga, the second largest city in Madagascar. Except for Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga Province bordered ...

) at an altitude of . At this location, about upstream from

Bekopaka Bekopaka is a rural municipality in western Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Antsalova, which is a part of Melaky Region. The population of the commune was estimated to be approximately 9,000 in 2001 commune census. Bekopaka is served by ...

, in a

dry forest Dry or dryness most often refers to: * Lack of rainfall, which may refer to **Arid regions **Drought * Dry or dry area, relating to legal prohibition of selling, serving, or imbibing alcoholic beverages * Dry humor, deadpan * Dryness (medical) ...

with

calcareous soil 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 adj ...

, it was found growing on bark. This lichen is only known to occur at the

type locality Type locality may refer to: * Type locality (biology) * Type locality (geology) See also * Local (disambiguation) * Locality (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

. ''Lecanactis rubra'' has a

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

-coloured, verrucose (pimply), mat

thallus Thallus (plural: 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. Many of these organisms ...

that lacks 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 ...

. The prothallus is dark brown and byssoid (i.e., like teased wool). The

ascospore An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera o ...

s are fusiform (spindle-shaped) with 3

septa The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates transit bus, bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people ...

, and typically measure 22.5–27.0 by 5.5–6.0

μm The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Uni ...

. The lichen contains

gyrophoric acid Gyrophoric acid is a depside that can be found in the lichen ''Cryptothecia rubrocincta'' and in '' Xanthoparmelia pokomyi''. It can also be found in most of the species of the '' Actinogyra'', ''Lasallia'', and ''Umbilicaria'' genera. See also ...

, a

secondary compound Secondary metabolites, also called specialised metabolites, toxins, secondary products, or natural products, are organic compounds produced by any lifeform, e.g. bacteria, fungi, animals, or plants, which are not directly involved in the nor ...

that can be detected using

thin-layer chromatography Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is a chromatography technique used to separate non-volatile mixtures. Thin-layer chromatography is performed on a sheet of an inert substrate such as glass, plastic, or aluminium foil, which is coated with a t ...

. It also has an unidentified

anthraquinone Anthraquinone, also called anthracenedione or dioxoanthracene, is an aromatic organic compound with formula . Isomers include various quinone derivatives. The term anthraquinone however refers to the isomer, 9,10-anthraquinone (IUPAC: 9,10-dioxoan ...

that is present as numerous red crystals in the excipulum (the ring-shaped layer surrounding the spore-bearing

hymenium The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in others som ...

); the

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''rubra'' refers to this characteristic.

References

Roccellaceae Lichen species Lichens described in 2009 Lichens of Madagascar Taxa named by Emmanuël Sérusiaux {{Arthoniomycetes-stub