''Redonographa'' 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 lichen-forming

fungi A fungus (plural, : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of Eukaryote, eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and Mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified ...

in the monogeneric family Redonographaceae. It has five species.

Taxonomy

In 2013, lichenologists

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 ...

, Anders Tehler, and

Helge Thorsten Lumbsch Helge Thorsten Lumbsch (born 1964) is a German-born lichenologist living in the United States. His research interests include the phylogeny, taxonomy, and phylogeography of lichen-forming fungi; lichen diversity; lichen chemistry and chemota ...

proposed the new subfamily Redonographoideae to contain a

lineage Lineage may refer to: Science * Lineage (anthropology), a group that can demonstrate its common descent from an apical ancestor or a direct line of descent from an ancestor * Lineage (evolution), a temporal sequence of individuals, populatio ...

of lichen-forming fungi distinct from the

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 ...

subfamilies Fissurinoideae and Graphidoideae. They introduced the genus ''Redonographa'' with ''Redonographa chilensis'' assigned its

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( ...

. Four species were initially included in the genus; a fifth was added in 2020. The genus is named in honour of Jorge Redón Figueroa (botany professor at

Viña del Mar University Viña del Mar University ( es, Universidad Viña del Mar, or UVM) is an autonomous, private institution of higher education recognized by the Ministry of Education of Chile. It was founded on November 21, 1988. History Founded November 21, 1988, ...

and a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at both the

University of Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

(Faculty of Sciences) and the

University of Valparaíso The University of Valparaíso (UV) is a state public university in Chile, with its headquarters and the majority of its campuses in the city of Valparaíso. It has several other campuses in the Valparaiso Region of Chile ( Quinta Región) and in ...

(Institute of Oceanology) for his significant contributions to Chilean lichenology. In 2020, Lumbsch proposed the family Redonographaceae, with the authority "(Lücking, Tehler & Lumbsch) Lumbsch, stat nov.". In botanical taxonomy, "stat. nov." is an abbreviation for the

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 ...

term "status novus," ("new status"), and is used to indicate that an existing taxon (in this case, the subfamily Redonographoideae) has been reclassified or reassigned to a different rank or status within the taxonomic hierarchy.

Description

The genus ''Redonographa'' is distinct from ''

Carbacanthographis ''Carbacanthographis'' is a genus of corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichens in the family Graphidaceae. The genus was circumscribed by German lichenologists Bettina Staiger and Klaus Kalb in 2002. An updated worldwide key to the genus was publishe ...

'' due to its predominantly

saxicolous 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, giv ...

growth habit, meaning it grows on rocks, and its predominantly smooth , which are hair-like extensions found in the . The

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 ...

, or outer layer of the lichen body, is relatively thick and varies in appearance from continuous to . It may be , meaning it lacks a , or feature a compacted . The lirellae, or fruiting structures, of ''Redonographa'' lichens can be to prominent and display a variety of forms, from unbranched to stellate (star-like) branching or even appearing in clusters. These lirellae are surrounded by a basal to almost complete . As they mature, their , or outer covering, becomes fully , arching over 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 others som ...

and featuring short, smooth or apically warty above it. The hymenium of these lichens is clear. Each

ascus An ascus (; ) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some genera o ...

, or spore-producing sac, in ''Redonographa'' lichens contains eight . These spores are

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that may be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a surface that may be defined as the ...

to oblong in shape and have 3–5 transverse

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 ...

or are somewhat with 3–5 transverse and 0–2 longitudinal septa per segment. The spores have thickened septa and lens-shaped to rounded , and they are transparent. These ascospores exhibit a negative iodine ( Lugol) reaction. In terms of secondary chemistry, ''Redonographa'' lichens produce

norstictic acid Norstictic acid is a depsidone produced as a secondary metabolite Secondary metabolites, also called specialised metabolites, toxins, secondary products, or natural products, are organic compounds produced by any lifeform, e.g. bacteria, fu ...

Species

Central and northern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

appears to be the

centre of diversity A center of origin is a geographical area where a group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its distinctive properties. They are also considered centers of diversity. Centers of origin were first identified in 1924 by N ...

for ''Redonographa''. * '' Redonographa chilensis'' – Chile * '' Redonographa galapagoensis'' – Galapagos Islands * '' Redonographa parvispora'' – Mexico * '' Redonographa saxiseda'' – Chile * '' Redonographa saxorum'' –

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

; Galapagos Islands

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q16624622 Graphidales Taxa described in 2013 Lichen genera Taxa named by Helge Thorsten Lumbsch Taxa named by Robert Lücking Graphidales genera