''Pachypeltis'' 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

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 comprises six species.

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 ...

in 2013 by the lichenologists Ulrik Søchting, Patrik Frödén, and Ulf Arup, with '' P. castellana'' 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 name means "thick shield".

Description

Genus ''Pachypeltis'' includes lichens with

growth forms Plant life-form schemes constitute a way of classifying plants alternatively to the ordinary species-genus-family scientific classification. In colloquial speech, plants may be classified as trees, shrubs, herbs (forbs and graminoids), etc. The sci ...

ranging from crust-like (

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 ...

) and cracked into distinct segments () to slightly bushy (subfruticose). These lichens are often thick and may grow on other lichens (

lichenicolous 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 ...

), particularly those found on rocks (

saxicolous lichen A saxicolous lichen is a lichen that grows on rock. The prefix "sax" from the Latin means "rock" or "stone". Characteristics Saxicolous lichens exhibit very slow growth rates. They may develop on rock substrates for long periods of time, give ...

s). However, most species in this genus are adapted to dry, continental

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

climates, where they grow on soil or soil-covered rocks, forming tightly attached, small, crusty patches called . The outer layer of the lichen, called the cortex, consists of densely packed cells () or possibly a specialised type of cortex (). Their fruiting bodies, known as

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 ...

, are typically cup-shaped (zeorine) and contain

anthraquinone Anthraquinone, also called anthracenedione or dioxoanthracene, is an aromatic hydrocarbon, aromatic organic compound with formula . Several isomers exist but these terms usually refer to 9,10-anthraquinone (IUPAC: 9,10-dioxoanthracene) wherein th ...

compounds, which often give the of the apothecia a darker colouration. The

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual reproduction, sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for biological dispersal, dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores fo ...

s are two-celled (), with a dividing wall (

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 ...

) that is short to moderately long. 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 ...

, which produce asexual spores, have not been observed in this genus.

Species

*'' Pachypeltis castellana'' *'' Pachypeltis cladodes'' *'' Pachypeltis insularis'' *'' Pachypeltis intrudens'' *'' Pachypeltis pachythallina'' *'' Pachypeltis phoenicopta'' ''Pachypeltis invadens'' is a species that was proposed but was not

validly published In botanical nomenclature, a validly published name is a name that meets the requirements in the ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (''ICN'') for valid publication. Valid publication of a name represents the minim ...

because it was based on ''Caloplaca invadens'' , which itself was never validly published due to missing required details. As a result, the name does not meet the formal rules for naming under the International Code of Nomenclature.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q27983574 Teloschistales Lichen genera Taxa described in 2013 Teloschistales genera Taxa named by Ulrik Søchting Taxa named by Patrik Frödén Taxa named by Ulf Arup