''Teuvoa'' 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 family

Megasporaceae Megasporaceae are a family of fungi belonging to the order Pertusariales. Taxa are lichenized with green algae, and grow on rocks, often in maritime climates close to fresh water. Phylogenetic analysis has shown that this family is related to th ...

. The genus was

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every po ...

in 2013 by Mohammad Sohrabi and Steven Leavitt with '' Teuvoa uxoris'' assigned as the

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( ...

. The genus was segregated from the large genus ''

Aspicilia ''Aspicilia'' (sunken disk lichen) is a genus of mostly crustose areolate lichens that grow on rock. Most members have black apothecia discs that are slightly immersed in the areolas, hence the common name.Field Guide to California Lichens, Ste ...

'' after

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analysis revealed that the ''Aspicilia uxoris''

species group In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

formed a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic ...

clade that represented an independent

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 ...

within the Megasporaceae. Three species were initially placed in the genus; two additional species from China were added in 2018. ''Teuvoa'' is distinguished from ''Aspicilia'' by its small

ascospore 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 ...

s and

conidia A conidium ( ; ), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (), is an asexual, non-motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word for dust, ('). They are also called mitospores due to th ...

(the latter measuring 5–8

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 ...

), and the lack of

secondary metabolite Secondary metabolites, also called specialised metabolites, toxins, secondary products, or natural products, are organic compounds produced by any lifeform, e.g. bacteria, fungi, animals, or plants, which are not directly involved in the no ...

s. The genus name honours Finnish lichenologist

Teuvo Ahti Teuvo ("Ted") Tapio Ahti (born 1934) is a Finnish botanist and lichenologist. He has had a long career at the University of Helsinki that started in 1963, and then following his retirement in 1997, at the Botanical Museum of the Finnish Museum ...

, "one of the prominent lichen taxonomists of the 20th century".

Species

*''

Teuvoa alpina ''Teuvoa'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Megasporaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Mohammad Sohrabi and Steven Leavitt with ''Teuvoa uxoris'' assigned as the type species. The genus was segregated from the large gen ...

'' *''

Teuvoa junipericola ''Teuvoa'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Megasporaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Mohammad Sohrabi and Steven Leavitt with ''Teuvoa uxoris'' assigned as the type species. The genus was segregated from the large gen ...

'' *''

Teuvoa saxicola ''Teuvoa'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Megasporaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Mohammad Sohrabi and Steven Leavitt with ''Teuvoa uxoris'' assigned as the type species. The genus was segregated from the large gen ...

'' *''

Teuvoa tibetica ''Teuvoa'' is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Megasporaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 2013 by Mohammad Sohrabi and Steven Leavitt with ''Teuvoa uxoris'' assigned as the type species. The genus was segregated from the large gen ...

'' *'' Teuvoa uxoris''

References

Pertusariales Pertusariales genera Lichen genera Taxa described in 2013 {{Pertusariales-stub