''Peltula lobulata'' is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling),

squamulose lichen A squamulose lichen is a lichen that is composed of small, often overlapping "scales" called squamules. If they are raised from the substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an o ...

that belongs to the family

Peltulaceae The Peltulaceae are a family of ascomycete fungi. Most species are lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.

. This species was first described in 2019 following its discovery in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China.

Taxonomy

''Peltula lobulata'' was formally described as a new species in 2019 by Qiuxia Yang and Xinli Wei. Its

species epithet Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany) A botanical name ...

, ''lobulata'', derived from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

, refers to the numerous small lobes, or , present on the lichen's body. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of seve ...

, the specimen used for the original description, was collected in Mangshan National Forest Park,

Description

The ''Peltula lobulata'' has a

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 is scale-like () in forms, and grows up to 2.5 mm in diameter. The thallus is irregularly rounded, ranging from convex to flat, with many small lobules that become apparent as it matures. The edges of the thallus are curled downwards and lobed, lighter in colour than the rest of the body. The upper surface is dark olive-green, uneven in colour, and rough (), sometimes showing cracks, without any powdery or granular cover (). The lower surface is , nearly black, and tightly adheres to the with a central, short attachment point (). The thallus thickness ranges from 185 to 300

micrometre 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 ...

s (μm), with lobules up to 125 μm thick. Unlike many lichens, the upper is not fully developed but includes a yellowish outer layer () 5 μm thick. The layer containing the photosynthetic partner (), which is made up of cyanobacteria, is 56–105 μm thick. The inner layer ( medulla) is composed of loosely interwoven fungal filaments (

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) and round cells, while the lower cortex is tightly packed () and about 30 μm thick. Reproductive structures (

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 ...

) are rare, small, and embed within the thallus, with 1–2 typically found per scale of the thallus. The is yellow-brown. The spore-producing sacs (

asci ASCI or Asci may refer to: * Advertising Standards Council of India * Asci, the plural of ascus, in fungal anatomy * Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative * American Society for Clinical Investigation * Argus Sour Crude Index * Association of ...

) are club-shaped, containing more than 60 spores each, and the spores are clear (

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

), lack

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 measure 5.5–8.3 by 2.7–3.8 μm.

Habitat and distribution

''Peltula lobulata'' is found growing on sun-exposed red

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especia ...

and grey

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

along roadsides at low mountain altitudes. At the time of its publication, it was known only from its

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

in China and tends to grow isolated from other species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q130703168 Lichinomycetes Lichen species Lichens described in 2022 Lichens of China