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Staurospora

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Staurospora
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Arthoniomycetes
Order: Arthoniales
Family: Arthoniaceae
Genus: Staurospora
Grube (2018)
Species:
S. purpurissata
Binomial name
Staurospora purpurissata
(Nyl.) Grube (2018)
Synonyms[1]
  • Arthonia purpurissata Nyl. (1863)

Staurospora purpurissata is a fungal genus in the family Arthoniaceae. This monotypic genus contains the single species Staurospora purpurissata,[2] a corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen. It is distinguished from other genera in the family by its unique spherical ascospores. The genus was circumscribed in 2018 by the Austrian lichenologist Martin Grube.[3] The type species was originally described by William Nylander in 1863, who placed it in the genus Arthonia. In his original characterisation of the species, Nylander described it as having a thallus that is either white or pale and very thin, either matte and undefined or bordered by a blackish prothallus line. The apothecia (fruiting bodies) are dark brown to black, oblong and irregularly shaped, flat, and of medium size (width approximately 0.5 millimeters), barely protruding, sometimes showing a hint of redness or having a purple-tinged upper margin, with the inside being darkly scarlet or somewhat red-tinged. This species typically grows on tree bark and the type specimen was collected at an elevation of 2,500 m (8,200 ft). Nylander emphasized its paradoxical nature within the genus, especially due to its unique colouration and habitat, differentiating it significantly from related species and assigning it to a distinct section of the genus characterised by variably coloured, non-black apothecia.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Synonymy. Current Name: Staurospora purpurissata (Nyl.) Grube, Herzogia 31(1/2): 696 (2018)". Species Fungorum. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Staurospora". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  3. ^ Grube, Martin (2018). "Staurospora, a new genus for a unique species with spherical ascospores in Arthoniaceae". Herzogia. 31 (p1): 695–699. doi:10.13158/heia.31.1.2018.695.
  4. ^ Nylander, William (1863). "Lichenographia Novogranatensis prodromus" [Prodromus of the lichenography of New Granada]. Acta Societatis Scientiarum Fennicae (in Latin). 7 (2): 415–504 [482].