Fuscidea muskeg

Fuscidea muskeg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Lecanoromycetes
Order:	Umbilicariales
Family:	Fuscideaceae
Genus:	Fuscidea
Species:	F. muskeg
Binomial name
Fuscidea muskeg Tønsb. & M.Zahradn. (2020)

Fuscidea muskeg is a species of crustose lichen in the family Fuscideaceae. Found in Alaska, it was described as a new species in 2020 by Tor Tønsberg and Martina Zahradníková. The type species was collected in the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area of Glacier Bay National Park. Here it was found growing on a branch of the tree Pinus contorta in muskeg. The specific epithet muskeg is an Algonquin word for a blanket bog.^[1]

Description[]

Fuscidea muskeg has a crust-like thallus that grows on bark. It forms rounded patches up to a few centimeters in diameter and 0.5 mm thick. The patches are made of discrete, convex areoles measuring 0.12–0.20 mm (0.005–0.008 in) in diameter, with a color ranging from pale greenish to greenish with a yellowish tinge. The areoles eventually burst at the top and form soralia. The soralia are initially discrete, but aggregate later, and in some instances form a granular layer throughout the thallus surface.^[1]

The photobiont partner of Fuscidea muskeg is trebouxioid – a spherical, one-celled green alga. They measure from 8 to 18 μm in diameter (usually between 11 and 15). The results of standard lichen spot tests are thallus PD+ (yellow), and C+ (red). The lichen contains .^[1]

is similar in appearance to F. muskeg but has somewhat longer ascospores (9.5–12 μm compared to 7–10 μm in F. muskeg), and it grows on rocks rather than on bark.^[1]

References[]