Diromma
Parent authorityErtz & Tehler (2014)
TaxonDiromma dirinellum
Authority(Nyl.) Ertz & Tehler (2014)
Synonyms
  • Platygrapha dirinella
  • Lecania diplotommoides
  • Schismatomma dirinellum

Diromma is a monotypic fungal genus in the family Roccellaceae. It contains the single species Diromma dirinellum, a rare crustose lichen that grows as a parasite on the lichen Dirina ceratoniae. It has a distribution restricted to the Mediterranean Basin.[1]

Taxonomy

This species was first described in 1882 by Finnish lichenologist William Nylander as Platygrapha dirinella, from specimens collected in Sardinia, Italy.[2] It was transferred to Schismatomma in 1923 by Alexander Zahlbruckner,[3] and considered a member of that genus for nearly a century. The genus Diromma was circumscribed in 2014 by Anders Tehler and Damien Ernst, following molecular phylogenetic analysis and revision of the Roccellaceae. This analysis showed that the species was a quite distinct lineage in the Roccellaceae. The genus name alludes to both its phylogenetic closeness to Dirina, and its morphological similarity with Schismatomma.[4]

Description

Diromma dirinellum has a crustose thallus with a cortex. Its ascomata, which are immersed (or partly so) in the thallus, measure 0.2–0.6 mm in diameter, and have a more or less circular to irregular outline. Ascospores are hyaline with 3 septa, and measure 20–30.5 by 4.5–5.5 μm; they are not enclosed in a gelatinous sheath. The photobiont partner is trentepholioid – green algae from genus Trentepohlia. The lichen contains roccellic acid, but does not react with any of the standard chemical spot tests (K−, C−, P−).[4]

References

  1. ^ Nimis, Pier Luigi (2016). The Lichens of Italy. A Second Annotated Catalogue. Trieste: Edizioni Università di Trieste. p. 181. ISBN 978-88-8303-755-9.
  2. ^ Nylander, W. (1856). "Synopsis du genre Arthonia" (in Latin). Mémoires de la Société Impériale des Sciences Naturelles de Cherbourg. 4: 85–104.
  3. ^ Zahlbruckner, A. (1923). Catalogus Lichenum Universalis. Vol. 2. Jena: Bernhard Vopelius. p. 555.
  4. ^ Ertz, Damien; Tehler, Anders; Irestedt, Martin; Frisch, Andreas; Thor, Göran; van den Boom, Pieter (2014). "A large-scale phylogenetic revision of Roccellaceae (Arthoniales) reveals eight new genera". Fungal Diversity. 70 (1): 31–53. doi:10.1007/s13225-014-0286-5. S2CID 7994392