''Verrucaria'' 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 lichenized (
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
Verrucariaceae
Verrucariaceae is a family of lichens and a few non-lichenised fungi in the order Verrucariales. The lichens have a wide variety of thallus forms, from crustose (crust-like) to foliose (bushy) and squamulose (scaly). Most of them grow on lan ...
.
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 German botanist
Heinrich Adolph Schrader
Heinrich Adolf Schrader (1 January 1767 in Alfeld near Hildesheim – 22 October 1836 in Göttingen) was a German botanist and mycologist. He studied medicine early in life. He named the Australian plant genus ''Hakea'' in 1797.
In 1795 he re ...
in 1794, with ''
Verrucaria rupestris'' assigned as the
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 ...
. In his brief diagnosis of the genus, Schrader mentioned the more or less spherical (''subglobose''), closed ascomata, and the
crustose
Crustose is a Habit (biology), habit of some types of algae and lichens in which the organism grows tightly appressed to a substrate, forming a biological layer. ''Crustose'' adheres very closely to the Substrate (biology), substrates at all poin ...
thallus.
The genus name is derived from 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 ...
word ''verruca'' (meaning "wart") and the suffix ''-aria'' (meaning "belonging to" or "possession").
Ecology
As of 2015, there were 16 ''Verrucaria'' species classified as
marine species: ''
V. adguttata'', ''
V. allantoidea'', ''
V. ceuthocarpa'', ''
V. corallensi'', ''
V. ditmarsica'', ''
V. erichsenii'',
''
V. halizoa'', ''
V. halochlora'', ''
V. microsporoides'', ''
V. paulula'', ''
V. psychrophila'',
''
V. sandstedei'', ''
V. serpuloides'', ''
V. sessilis'', ''
V. subdiscreta'', and ''
V. thalassina''.
Species
* ''
Verrucaria ahtii
''Verrucaria ahtii'' is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. It is found in Finland, Lithuania, Russia, and Switzerland, where it occurs on calcareous pebbles.
Taxonomy
The lichen was formall ...
'' – Finland
* ''
Verrucaria kiyosumiensis'' – Japan
* ''
Verrucaria nigrescens
''Verrucaria nigrescens'' is a widespread species of crustose lichen in the family Verrucariaceae. First described by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1795, it has maintained its original name despite accumulating many synonym (taxonomy), synonym ...
'' – widespread
* ''
Verrucaria oulankaensis'' – Finland
* ''
Verrucaria rhizicola'' – France
* ''
Verrucaria rupestris''
* ''
Verrucaria serpuloides
''Verrucaria serpuloides'' is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen belonging to the family Verrucariaceae. It is native to the Antarctic Peninsula. It is one of only two permanently submerged species of lichen, the other bei ...
'' – a permanently submerged marine lichen in Antarctica
* ''
Verrucaria takagoensis'' – Japan
* ''
Verrucaria vitikainenii'' – Finland
Distribution
''Verrucaria ditmarsica'' has been recorded in 1984 from the Lighthouse Island,
Copeland Island
The Copeland Islands is a group of three islands in the north Irish Sea, north of Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland, consisting of Lighthouse Island (also known as Old Island), Copeland Island (also known as Big Island) and Mew Island. ...
,
County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
.
[Morton, O. 1988. Lichens on Lighthouse Island. Copeland Bird Observatory Annual Report for 1986 p.44]
See also
* ''
Hydropunctaria maura
''Hydropunctaria maura'', still often called by the older name ''Verrucaria maura'' and commonly known as tar lichen, is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichen belonging to the family Verrucariaceae. A perennial species that doe ...
'', formerly ''Verrucaria maura'', one of the most widespread lichens on the European littoral zone and found worldwide
References
Eurotiomycetes genera
Lichen genera
Taxa described in 1794
Taxa named by Heinrich Schrader (botanist)
{{Eurotiomycetes-stub