foliose lichen
Foliose lichen is one of the morphological classes of lichens, which are complex organisms that arise from the symbiotic relationship between fungi and a photosynthetic partner, typically algae. This partnership allows lichen to live in divers ...
in the family
Peltigeraceae
The Peltigeraceae are a family of lichens in the order Peltigerales. The Peltigeraceae, which contains 15 genera and about 600 species, has recently (2018) been emended to include the families Lobariaceae and Nephromataceae. Many Peltigeraceae ...
. It is found in the
Colombian Andes
The Andean region, located in central Colombia, is the most populated natural region of Colombia. With many mountains, the Andes contain most of the country's urban centers.formally described as a new species by lichenologists Bibiana Moncada and
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 ...
. 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 near the La Laguna de Chisacá ( Cundinamarca) at an altitude of . 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 ...
refers to its resemblance to and close association with ''
Sticta humboldtii
''Sticta'' is a genus of lichens in the family Peltigeraceae. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in tropical areas, and includes about 114 species. These lichens have a leafy appearance, and are colored brown or black. ''Stict ...
''. The name "parahumboldtii" is derived from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
prefix "para," meaning "next to" or "near."
In a time-calibrated
chronogram
A chronogram is a sentence or inscription in which specific letters, interpreted as numerals (such as Roman numerals), stand for a particular date when rearranged. The word, meaning "time writing", derives from the Greek words ''chronos'' (χ ...
of the
phylogeny
A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spe ...
of the genus ''
Sticta
''Sticta'' is a genus of lichens in the family Peltigeraceae. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in tropical areas, and includes about 114 species. These lichens have a leafy appearance, and are colored brown or black. ''Sticta' ...
''Sticta parahumboldtii'' inhabits the Colombian Andes, growing in high-andine forests and
páramo
Páramo () can refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrowe ...
vegetation, at elevations ranging from , in shaded to semi-exposed microsites. This species has been found in the
Cordillera Central Central Cordillera refers to the New Guinea Highlands.
Cordillera Central, meaning ''central range'' in Spanish, may refer to the following mountain ranges:
* Cordillera Central, Andes (disambiguation), several mountain ranges in South America
** ...
epiphytically
An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...
, frequently found in association with species of ''
Metzgeria
''Metzgeria'' is a genus of thalloid liverworts in the family Metzgeriaceae.
Taxonomy
The genus was named in honor of Johann Metzger (1771–1844), a German copper engraver and art restorer from Staufen im Breisgau, in Baden-Württemberg, a fr ...
'', ''
Frullania
''Frullania'' is the only genus of liverworts in family Frullaniaceae. It contains the following species:
A
*'' Frullania aculeata'' Taylor, 1846
*'' Frullania acutata'' Caspary, 1887
*'' Frullania acutiloba'' Gerola, 1947
*''Frullania akiyam ...
'', and ''
Leptogium
''Leptogium'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Collemataceae. It has about 110 species.
Species
*''Leptogium acadiense''
*''Leptogium adnatum'' – South America
*'' Leptogium andegavense''
*''Leptogium antarcticum''
*'' Lep ...
''.
''Sticta parahumboldtii'' is one of only a few species in the genus ''
Sticta
''Sticta'' is a genus of lichens in the family Peltigeraceae. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in tropical areas, and includes about 114 species. These lichens have a leafy appearance, and are colored brown or black. ''Sticta' ...
'' that possess an upper , a cyanobacterial photobiont, and lack vegetative . There are two other species in Colombia that share a very similar
morphology
Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to:
Disciplines
*Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts
*Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...