''Placolecis'' 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
Catillariaceae
The Catillariaceae are a family of crustose lichens in the order Lecanorales. Species of this family have a widespread distribution, especially in temperate areas. The family was originally circumscribed by Austrian lichenologist Josef Hafellner ...
.
It has four species of
saxicolous
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 ...
(rock-dwelling) and
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 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 Italian botanist
Vittore Benedetto Antonio Trevisan de Saint-Léon
Vittore Benedetto Antonio Trevisan de Saint-Léon (5 June 1818, in Padua – 8 April 1897, in Milan) was an Italian botanist who specialized in cryptogam, cryptogamic flora. He edited the exsiccata ''Lichenotheca Veneta''.
During his career, ...
in 1857.
He did not assign a
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 ...
for the genus.
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 ...
designated a
lectotype
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 associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes ...
for ''Placolecis balanina'' in 1984,
but subsequently, this
taxon
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...
was folded into ''
P. opaca''.
Species
*''
Placolecis kunmingensis''
– China
*''
Placolecis loekoesiana''
*''
Placolecis opaca''
*''
Placolecis sublaevis''
– China
The taxon once known as ''Placolecis plumbea'' is now considered
synonymous
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
with ''
Pectenia plumbea''.
References
Lecanorales
Lecanorales genera
Lichen genera
Taxa described in 1857
Taxa named by Vittore Benedetto Antonio Trevisan de Saint-Léon
{{Lecanorales-stub