''Myriochapsa'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

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 ...

s in the subfamily Graphidoidae of the family

Graphidaceae The Graphidaceae are a family of lichens in the order Ostropales. Distribution and ecology The vast majority of Graphidaceae species are restricted to the tropics. Most Graphidaceae species are epiphytic (i.e. they grow only on plants). Gene ...

. It has three species. The genus was

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every po ...

in 2013 by Marcela Cáceres,

Robert Lücking Robert Lücking (born 1964) is a German lichenologist. He is a leading expert on foliicolous lichens–lichens that live on leaves. Life and career Born in Ulm in 1964, Lücking earned both his master's (1990) and PhD degree (1994) at the Univer ...

, and H. Thorsten Lumbsch, with the Brazilian '' Myriochapsa psoromica'' assigned as the

type species In 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 species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

. The generic name combines ''

Myriotrema ''Myriotrema'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Thelotremataceae. Species *'' Myriotrema aggregans'' *''Myriotrema arimense'' *'' Myriotrema barroense'' *'' Myriotrema calvescens'' *'' Myriotrema cinereoglaucescens'' *'' M ...

'' and ''

Chapsa ''Chapsa'' is a genus of lichens in the family Graphidaceae. The genus was described by Italian lichenologist Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo in 1860. Species *'' Chapsa albida'' *'' Chapsa alborosella'' *'' Chapsa alletii'' *'' Chapsa angus ...

'', referring to the two Graphidaceae genera that it resembles. The main distinguishing characteristics of the new genus are its densely corticate

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 ...

, and the presence of the

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 de ...

psoromic acid Psoromic acid is a β-orcinol depsidone with the molecular formula C18H14O8. Psoromic acid inhibits herpes simplex viruses type 1 and type 2. Furthermore, it inhibits the RabGGTase. Psoromic acid occurs in antarctic lichens A lichen ( , ) ...

. Additionally, its

apothecia An ascocarp, or ascoma (), 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. Ascocarps are mo ...

have wider pores, with differently textured margins. Although originally created as a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus,

Harrie Sipman Henricus (Harrie) Johannes Maria Sipman (born 1945) is a Dutch lichenologist. He specialises in tropical and subtropical lichens, and has authored or co-authored more than 250 scientific publications. He was the curator of the lichen herbarium ...

added two South American species in 2014.

Species

*'' Myriochapsa annulata'' – Venezuela *'' Myriochapsa chocoensis'' – Colombia *'' Myriochapsa psoromica'' – Brazil

References

Graphidaceae Lichen genera Graphidales genera Taxa described in 2013 Taxa named by Robert Lücking Taxa named by Helge Thorsten Lumbsch Taxa named by Marcela Cáceres {{Lecanoromycetes-stub