''Redonographa'' 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

monogeneric 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 "unispe ...

family Redonographaceae. It has five species.

Taxonomy

In 2013, lichenologists

Robert Lücking Robert Lücking (born 1964) is a German lichenologist, known for his extensive research on foliicolous lichens (lichens that live on leaves) and his significant contributions to the taxonomy, ecology, and biodiversity of fungi and lichens. He e ...

, Anders Tehler, and

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

proposed the new

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Redonographoideae to contain a lineage of lichen-forming fungi distinct from the

Graphidaceae The Graphidaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the order Graphidales. The family contains nearly a hundred genera and more than 2000 species. Although the family has a cosmopolitan distribution, most Graphidaceae species occur in tropic ...

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

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 ...

. 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 and a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

at both the

University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, 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 Valparaíso Region and in Santiago, which is 100&nb ...

(Institute of Oceanology) for his significant contributions to Chilean lichenology. In 2020, Lumbsch proposed the family Redonographaceae, with the

authority Authority is commonly understood as the legitimate power of a person or group of other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' may be practiced by legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government,''The New Fontana Dictionary of M ...

"(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 languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

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 lichen, corticolous (bark-dwelling) lichens in the family Graphidaceae. The genus was circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed by the German lichenologists Bettina Staiger and Klaus Kalb in 2002. ...

'' due to its predominantly

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 ...

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

thallus Thallus (: 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. A thallus usually names the entir ...

, 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 oth ...

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

ascus An ascus (; : asci) 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 gen ...

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

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that can be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional Scaling (geometry), scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a Surface (mathemat ...

to oblong in shape and have 3–5 transverse

septa SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

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 metabolites in lichens. The compound contains both an aldehyde carbonyl group and an adjacent hydroxyl In chemistry, a hydroxy or hydroxyl group is a functional group with the chemical fo ...

Species

Central and northern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

appears to be the

centre of diversity A Vavilov center or center of origin is a geographical area where a group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its distinctive properties. Centers of origin were first identified in 1924 by Nikolai Vavilov. Vavilov posit ...

for ''Redonographa''. * ''

Redonographa chilensis ''Redonographa'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the monogeneric family Redonographaceae. It has five species. Taxonomy In 2013, lichenologists Robert Lücking, Anders Tehler, and Helge Thorsten Lumbsch proposed the new subfamily Redon ...

'' – Chile * ''

Redonographa galapagoensis ''Redonographa galapagoensis'' is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Redonographaceae. Found in the Galápagos Islands, it was formally described as a new species in 2013 by lichenologists Frank Bungartz and ...

'' – Galapagos Islands * ''

Redonographa parvispora ''Redonographa'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the monogeneric family Redonographaceae. It has five species. Taxonomy In 2013, lichenologists Robert Lücking, Anders Tehler, and Helge Thorsten Lumbsch proposed the new subfamily Redon ...

'' – Mexico * ''

Redonographa saxiseda ''Redonographa'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the monogeneric family Redonographaceae. It has five species. Taxonomy In 2013, lichenologists Robert Lücking, Anders Tehler, and Helge Thorsten Lumbsch proposed the new subfamily Redon ...

'' – Chile * ''

Redonographa saxorum ''Redonographa'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the monogeneric family Redonographaceae. It has five species. Taxonomy In 2013, lichenologists Robert Lücking, Anders Tehler, and Helge Thorsten Lumbsch proposed the new subfamily Redon ...

'' –

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

; 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