''Sclerococcum aptrootii'' is a species of

lichenicolous fungus A lichenicolous fungus is a parasitic fungus that only lives on lichen as the host. A lichenicolous fungus is not the same as the fungus that is the component of the lichen, which is known as a lichenized fungus. They are most commonly specific t ...

in the family

Dactylosporaceae The Dactylosporaceae or Sclerococcaceae are a family of lichen-forming fungi in the class Eurotiomycetes. It is the only family of the order Sclerococcales and subclass Sclerococcomycetidae. Taxonomy There are currently seven genera in the fam ...

. Found in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, it was formally described as a new species in 2015 by Belgian mycologist Paul Diederich. The

type specimen 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 attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

was collected in Maricao State Forest north of Sabana Grande ( Mayagüez), at an altitude of ; here, in a low mountain forest, it was found growing on the lichen '' Fissurina dumastii''. It is only known to occur at the

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

. The fungus forms black, rounded sporodochia that measure 50–100

μm 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 Uni ...

in diameter; it does not otherwise damage the

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places *Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People * Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

. The

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 ...

honours Dutch lichenologist

André Aptroot André Aptroot ( Heemskerk, 1961) is a Dutch mycologist and lichenologist. In 1993 he did his PhD at the University of Utrecht under the supervision of Robbert Gradstein (nl). His dissertation was titled "Systematic studies on pyrenocarpous l ...

, who collected the type in 1989.

References

Lecanorales Fungi described in 2015 Fungi of the Caribbean Lichenicolous fungi {{Lecanorales-stub