''Tania'' 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
Roccellaceae
The Roccellaceae are a family (biology), family of mostly lichen-forming fungi in the order Arthoniales, established by the French botanist François Fulgis Chevallier in 1826. Species in the family exhibit various lichen growth forms, growth ...
.
It comprises two species.
"The genus was established in 1995 and is named after the bryologist Benito Ching Tan, who helped collect the original specimen from
Mount Kinabalu
Mount Kinabalu ( Dusun: ''Gayo Ngaran'' or ''Nulu Nabalu'', ) is the highest mountain in Malaysia and Borneo. With a height of , it is the third-highest peak of an island on Earth, the 28th highest peak in Southeast Asia, and 20th most prom ...
. These lichens are distinguished by their unusual cotton-wool-like appearance that forms loose, fibrous crusts on tree bark, unlike the smooth surfaces typical of other lichens.
Taxonomy
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 Maria Egea Fernández, Pilar Torrente and
Harrie Sipman
Henricus (Harrie) Johannes Maria Sipman (born 1945) is a retired Dutch lichenologist who specialised in tropical and subtropical lichens and authored or co-authored over 250 scientific publications. He was the curator of the lichen herbarium at ...
in 1995, with ''
Tania lanosa'' assigned as the
type
Type may refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc.
* Data type, collection of values used for computations.
* File type
* TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file.
* ...
, and at that time, only species.
A second species, ''
T. mohamedii'', was added to the genus in 2006.
The genus name honours the bryologist Benito Ching Tan (1946–2016), who organized the expedition to
Mount Kinabalu
Mount Kinabalu ( Dusun: ''Gayo Ngaran'' or ''Nulu Nabalu'', ) is the highest mountain in Malaysia and Borneo. With a height of , it is the third-highest peak of an island on Earth, the 28th highest peak in Southeast Asia, and 20th most prom ...
and collected the type species with Sipman.
Description
''Tania forms'' a loose, cotton-wool-like () crust that spreads irregularly across the bark. Because the fungal threads (
hypha
A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium.
Structure
A hypha consists of one o ...
e) are only loosely interwoven and lack a protective skin (it is ), the surface looks fibrous rather than smooth. In vertical section the lichen is , meaning algal and fungal cells are mixed together rather than arranged in separate layers. The partner alga is a ''
Trentepohlia''-type
green alga
The green algae (: green alga) are a group of chlorophyll-containing autotrophic eukaryotes consisting of the phylum Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister group that contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/ Streptophyta. The land plants ( ...
whose rounded cells measure about 10–15 × 8–12 μm. A pale to dark grey – a marginal zone where only fungal hyphae occur – often outlines the thallus.
The reproductive bodies are small, stalk-less (
apothecia
An ascocarp, or ascoma (: ascomata), is the fruiting body ( sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded asci, each of which typically contains four to eight ascospores. As ...
) 0.2–0.7 mm across that sit on a slightly narrowed base. Each disc is ringed by a prominent dark margin; this margin is made of tightly cemented, dark-brown
hypha
A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium.
Structure
A hypha consists of one o ...
e (an ) that extend down into the thallus. The disc itself remains black and lacks any pale dusting (). Inside, a clear tissue layer (
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 ...
, 80–90 μm tall) contains sparse, simply branched whose swollen tips give the surface a dull brown glaze ().
Microscopically, each sac-like
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 ...
has a double wall that splits open when mature () and carries eight spores. A faint, blue-staining ring (hemiamyloid structure) is visible near the ascus tip in iodine
staining
Staining is a technique used to enhance contrast in samples, generally at the Microscope, microscopic level. Stains and dyes are frequently used in histology (microscopic study of biological tissue (biology), tissues), in cytology (microscopic ...
tests, a character typical of the order
Arthoniales
The Arthoniales is the second largest order of mainly crustose lichens, but fruticose lichens are present as well. The order contains around 1500 species, while the largest order with lichenized fungi, the Lecanorales, contains more than 14000 s ...
. The spores are colourless, spindle-shaped (), three-celled, and measure 26–33 × 4–5 μm; they lack any gelatinous . No
asexual reproductive structures have been observed. Standard chemical
spot tests are negative, but
thin-layer chromatography
Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is a chromatography technique that separates components in non-volatile mixtures.
It is performed on a TLC plate made up of a non-reactive solid coated with a thin layer of adsorbent material. This is called the sta ...
shows the presence of
schizopeltic acid, an uncommon
lichen product
Lichen products, also known as lichen substances, are organic compounds produced by a lichen. Specifically, they are secondary metabolites. Lichen products are represented in several different chemical classes, including terpenoids, orcinol deri ...
.
Species
* ''
Tania lanosa''
* ''
Tania mohamedii''
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7683222
Roccellaceae
Arthoniomycetes genera
Lichen genera
Taxa named by Harrie Sipman
Taxa described in 1995