Megalaria Intermixta
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''Megalaria'' 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 ...
of
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 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 ...
Ramalinaceae The Ramalinaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Lecanorales. First proposed by Carl Adolph Agardh in 1821, the family now comprises 63 genera and about 750 species. Ramalinaceae lichens exhibit diverse growth forms, includin ...
. It contains 44 species of
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 ...
s, the majority of which grow on bark.


Taxonomy

The genus 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 ...
by Austrian lichenologist
Josef Hafellner Josef Hafellner (1951– ) is an Austrian mycologist and lichenologist. He was awarded the Acharius Medal in 2016 for his lifetime contributions to lichenology. Before his retirement, he was a professor at the Karl-Franzens-Universität in Graz ...
in 1984, with '' Megalaria grossa'' assigned 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 ...
. The genus ''Catillochroma'' has been synonymised with ''Megalaria'' by Alan Fryday and James Lendemer (2010) due to similar morphological characteristics. While this synonymisation has been debated, recent
molecular phylogenetics Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...
studies support a broader circumscription of ''Megalaria'' that includes ''Catillochroma'', pending further research with expanded taxon sampling.


Description

Megalaria lichens have a
crustose Crustose is a Habit (biology), habit of some types of algae and lichens in which the organism grows tightly appressed to a substrate, forming a biological layer. ''Crustose'' adheres very closely to the Substrate (biology), substrates at all poin ...
thallus (lichen body), which means it forms a crust-like layer that adheres closely to the . The
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 ...
lacks a distinct outer , and its surface can range from smooth and continuous to in texture. The lichen's primary
photosynthetic Photosynthesis ( ) is a Biological system, system of biological processes by which Photoautotrophism, photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical ener ...
partner, or , is typically from the genus ''
Dictyochloropsis ''Dictyochloropsis'' is a genus of Unicellular organism, unicellular Green algae, green alga of the phylum Chlorophyta. This genus consists of Free-swimming, free-living algae which have a reticulate (net-like) chloroplast that varies slightly in ...
'', though other single-celled
algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...
may also be involved. The fruiting bodies, or
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 ...
, of ''Megalaria'' are sessile
apothecia An ascocarp, or ascoma (: ascomata), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. As ...
, meaning they are directly attached to the thallus without a stalk. These apothecia are relatively large and black, and they do not have a margin formed from the thallus (known as a ). Instead, the edge of the apothecium is made up of the , which is a layer of
hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one o ...
e (fungal filaments) arranged in a vertical or manner. These hyphae are coated in a thick gel. The
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 oth ...
(the spore-producing tissue) of the apothecia is generally colourless to pale brown, while the upper layer, called the , contains pigments that turn from greenish to dark purple when treated with
potassium hydroxide Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula K OH, and is commonly called caustic potash. Along with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), KOH is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications, most of which utili ...
solution (K+). The layer beneath the hymenium, the , often shares this greenish to purple colouration, though it can sometimes appear pale. The interior of the apothecia, or , contains numerous slender
paraphyses Paraphyses are erect sterile filament-like support structures occurring among the reproductive apparatuses of fungi, ferns, bryophytes and some thallophytes. The singular form of the word is paraphysis. In certain fungi, they are part of the f ...
, which are thread-like sterile cells that can be either unbranched or slightly branched. Their tips are club-shaped, but they lack the dark caps sometimes seen in other lichens. The asci (spore-producing sacs) are typically cylindrical to club-shaped and contain between two and eight spores. These asci are of the ''
Lecanora ''Lecanora'' is a genus of lichen commonly called rim lichens.Field Guide to California Lichens, Stephen Sharnoff, Yale University Press, 2014, Lichens in the genus '' Squamarina'' are also called rim lichens. Members of the genus have roughly c ...
''-, ''
Bacidia ''Bacidia'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by Giuseppe De Notaris in 1846. Description ''Bacidia'' is characterised by its crustose (crust-like) growth form. The main body ...
''-, or ''
Biatora ''Biatora'' is a genus of lichens in the family Ramalinaceae. Originally circumscribed in 1817,Fries EM, Sandberg A. (1817). ''Lichenum dianome nova''. Lund. the genus consists of crustose and squamulose lichens with green algal photobionts, bi ...
''-type, which means they feature a broad, non-reactive (non-
amyloid Amyloids are aggregates of proteins characterised by a fibrillar morphology of typically 7–13 nm in diameter, a β-sheet secondary structure (known as cross-β) and ability to be stained by particular dyes, such as Congo red. In the human ...
) apical cushion and a distinct ocular chamber. The spores produced by ''Megalaria'' are generally
ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that can be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional Scaling (geometry), scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface;  that is, a Surface (mathemat ...
al in shape, divided by one internal
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 ...
(1-septate), colourless, and smooth with thick walls. Unlike some other lichen spores, they do not have a distinct outer sheath. In addition to its sexual reproductive structures, ''Megalaria'' also produces asexual spores, or
conidia A conidium ( ; : conidia), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (: chlamydoconidia), is an asexual, non- motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word for dust, ('). They are also ...
, in structures called
pycnidia A pycnidium (plural pycnidia) is an asexual fruiting body produced by mitosporic fungi, for instance in the order Sphaeropsidales ( Deuteromycota, Coelomycetes) or order Pleosporales (Ascomycota, Dothideomycetes). It is often spherical or inve ...
. These conidia are colourless and can be ellipsoidal to cylindrical in shape. Chemical spot tests generally do not detect any products in ''Megalaria'' species, although some species can produce
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 ...
s such as
atranorin Atranorin is a chemical substance produced by some species of lichen. It is a secondary metabolite belonging to a group of compounds known as depsides. Atranorin has analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, cytotoxic, antioxidant, ...
,
zeorin Zeorin is a triterpene with the molecular formula C30H52O2 which occurs in many lichens A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, al ...
, and
fumarprotocetraric acid Fumarprotocetraric acid is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a secondary metabolite produced by a variety of lichens. Occurrence Fumarprotocetraric acid is mainly known for its occurrence in Iceland moss (''Cetraria islandica ...
.


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 44 species of ''Megalaria''. * '' Megalaria allantoidea''
Kerguelen Islands The Kerguelen Islands ( or ; in French commonly ' but officially ', ), also known as the Desolation Islands (' in French), are a group of islands in the subantarctic, sub-Antarctic region. They are among the Extremes on Earth#Remoteness, most i ...
* ''
Megalaria anaglyptica ''Megalaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family (biology), family Ramalinaceae. It contains 44 species of crustose lichens, the majority of which corticolous lichen, grow on bark. Taxonomy The genus was circumscription (taxonomy ...
'' * ''
Megalaria bengalensis ''Megalaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family (biology), family Ramalinaceae. It contains 44 species of crustose lichens, the majority of which corticolous lichen, grow on bark. Taxonomy The genus was circumscription (taxonomy ...
'' – India * ''
Megalaria bryophila ''Megalaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. It contains 44 species of crustose lichens, the majority of which grow on bark. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by Austrian lichenologist Josef Hafellner in 198 ...
'' * '' Megalaria endochroma'' * '' Megalaria grossa'' * ''
Megalaria hafellneriana ''Megalaria hafellneriana'' is a species of crustose lichen in the family Ramalinaceae. Found in Tasmania, Australia, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by lichenologist Gintaras Kantvilas. The species epithet honours Austrian l ...
'' – Tasmania * ''
Megalaria imshaugii ''Megalaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. It contains 44 species of crustose lichens, the majority of which grow on bark. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by Austrian lichenologist Josef Hafellner in 198 ...
'' * ''
Megalaria insularis ''Megalaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family (biology), family Ramalinaceae. It contains 44 species of crustose lichens, the majority of which corticolous lichen, grow on bark. Taxonomy The genus was circumscription (taxonomy ...
'' – Australia * '' Megalaria intermiscens'' * '' Megalaria intermixta'' * '' Megalaria jemtlandica'' * '' Megalaria laureri'' * '' Megalaria leptocheila'' * ''
Megalaria leucochlora ''Megalaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family (biology), family Ramalinaceae. It contains 44 species of crustose lichens, the majority of which corticolous lichen, grow on bark. Taxonomy The genus was circumscription (taxonomy ...
'' * ''
Megalaria macrospora Fryday ''Megalaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. It contains 44 species of crustose lichens, the majority of which grow on bark. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by Austrian lichenologist Josef Hafellner in 198 ...
'' * '' Megalaria maculosa'' * ''
Megalaria melaloma ''Megalaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family (biology), family Ramalinaceae. It contains 44 species of crustose lichens, the majority of which corticolous lichen, grow on bark. Taxonomy The genus was circumscription (taxonomy ...
'' * '' Megalaria melanopotamica'' * ''
Megalaria montana ''Megalaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. It contains 44 species of crustose lichens, the majority of which grow on bark. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by Austrian lichenologist Josef Hafellner in 198 ...
'' – Australia * ''
Megalaria obludens ''Megalaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. It contains 44 species of crustose lichens, the majority of which grow on bark. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by Austrian lichenologist Josef Hafellner in 198 ...
'' * '' Megalaria ochraceonigra'' * '' Megalaria orokonuiana'' – New Zealand * ''
Megalaria pannosa ''Megalaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. It contains 44 species of crustose lichens, the majority of which grow on bark. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by Austrian lichenologist Josef Hafellner in 198 ...
'' * ''
Megalaria phaeolomiza ''Megalaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. It contains 44 species of crustose lichens, the majority of which grow on bark. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by Austrian lichenologist Josef Hafellner in 198 ...
'' * ''
Megalaria planocarpa ''Megalaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. It contains 44 species of crustose lichens, the majority of which grow on bark. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by Austrian lichenologist Josef Hafellner in 198 ...
''
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
* '' Megalaria pulverea'' * ''
Megalaria semipallida ''Megalaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. It contains 44 species of crustose lichens, the majority of which grow on bark. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by Austrian lichenologist Josef Hafellner in 198 ...
'' * ''
Megalaria spodophana ''Megalaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family (biology), family Ramalinaceae. It contains 44 species of crustose lichens, the majority of which corticolous lichen, grow on bark. Taxonomy The genus was circumscription (taxonomy ...
'' * ''
Megalaria subcarnea ''Megalaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Ramalinaceae. It contains 44 species of crustose lichens, the majority of which grow on bark. Taxonomy The genus was circumscribed by Austrian lichenologist Josef Hafellner in 198 ...
'' * ''
Megalaria subintermixta ''Megalaria'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family (biology), family Ramalinaceae. It contains 44 species of crustose lichens, the majority of which corticolous lichen, grow on bark. Taxonomy The genus was circumscription (taxonomy ...
'' * '' Megalaria sublivens'' * '' Megalaria subtasmanica'' – Tasmania * '' Megalaria variegata''


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10579500 Lecanorales Lecanorales genera Lichen genera Taxa named by Josef Hafellner Taxa described in 1984