{{Short description|Species of lichen-forming fungus}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use Oxford spelling|date=February 2026}} {{Speciesbox | image = | image_caption = | taxon = Gyalectidium novoguineense | authority = [[Emmanuël Sérusiaux|Sérusiaux]] (2001) | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 4 | mapframe-coordinates = {{coord|4|06|S|144|48|E}} | mapframe-caption = [[Holotype]]: between Awar plantation and Boroi, Papua New Guinea }}

'''''Gyalectidium novoguineense''''' is a species of [[lichen]]-forming [[fungus]] in the family [[Gomphillaceae]].<ref name="CoL_3HNP8"/> It is a [[foliicolous lichen|leaf-dwelling lichen]] known from [[tropical]] and [[subtropical]] regions including Papua New Guinea, Australia, [[New Caledonia]], Mexico, and Thailand, occurring in both natural [[rainforest]]s and cultivated settings such as [[botanical garden]]s. The species is distinguished by its minute silvery to whitish-grey patches composed of small blister-like segments, with very narrowly triangular, almost bristle-like reproductive structures arranged horizontally at the [[thallus]] edges.

==Taxonomy== ''Gyalectidium novoguineense'' was [[species description|described]] as a new species in 2001 by [[Emmanuël Sérusiaux|Emmanuël Sérusiaux]]. He treated it as part of a morphological series in [[section (botany)|section]] ''Placolectidium'', ranging from the broadly {{lichengloss|flabelliform}} (fan-shaped) {{lichengloss|hyphophores}} of ''[[Gyalectidium flabellatum|G.&nbsp;flabellatum]]'' to the cilia-like hyphophores of ''[[Gyalectidium ciliatum|G.&nbsp;ciliatum]]''. The species was distinguished by its very narrowly triangular, almost bristle-like hyphophore scales produced at the thallus edges.<ref name="Ferraro et al. 2001"/>

==Description== The [[thallus]] forms minute, dispersed to confluent, irregular patches about 0.3–0.5&nbsp;mm across, which together can form an aggregate up to about 5&nbsp;mm across. The thallus is composed of small, blister-like segments ({{lichengloss|areolate}}-{{lichengloss|bullate}}) covered with crystals that create a silvery to whitish-grey appearance, sometimes with thin greenish zones visible at the margins.<ref name="Ferraro et al. 2001"/>

Hyphophores (structures for [[asexual reproduction]]) are produced at the edges of the thallus. Their scales are small, horizontally arranged, and very narrowly triangular, measuring about 0.07–0.15&nbsp;mm long and 20–50&nbsp;μm broad at the base. The scales are whitish to pale grey. [[Apothecia]] (fruiting bodies) are rare, typically 1 (sometimes up to 3) per thallus patch. They are angular-rounded, about 0.2–0.3&nbsp;mm in diameter, with a greyish to pale yellowish-brown {{lichengloss|disc}} and a slightly prominent whitish margin that typically bears a thin brownish line on its inner edge. The [[ascospore]]s are [[ellipsoid]] to [[ovoid]], measuring 40–50 × 20–30&nbsp;[[μm]]. [[Pycnidia]] were not reported.<ref name="Ferraro et al. 2001"/>

==Habitat and distribution== Ferraro and colleagues reported ''Gyalectidium novoguineense'' from low-elevation sites along the northern coast of Papua New Guinea, and also from south-west Australia and [[New Caledonia]]. The collections were from both natural [[rainforest]] and artificial habitats (including [[botanical garden]] material in Papua New Guinea).<ref name="Ferraro et al. 2001"/> It has also been recorded from Mexico,<ref name="Herrera-Campos et al. 2007"/> and from Thailand.<ref name="Papong et al. 2007"/><ref name="Buaruang et al. 2017"/>

==References== <references>

<ref name="Buaruang et al. 2017">{{cite journal |last1=Buaruang |first1=Kawinnat |last2=Boonpragob |first2=Kansri |last3=Mongkolsuk |first3=Pachara |last4=Sangvichien |first4=Ek |last5=Vongshewarat |first5=Kajohnsak |last6=Polyiam |first6=Wetchasart |last7=Rangsiruji |first7=Achariya |last8=Saipunkaew |first8=Wanaruk |last9=Naksuwankul |first9=Khwanruan |last10=Kalb |first10=Jutarat |last11=Parnmen |first11=Sittiporn |last12=Kraichak |first12=Ekaphan |last13=Phraphuchamnong |first13=Phimpisa |last14=Meesim |first14=Sanya |last15=Luangsuphabool |first15=Theerapat |last16=Nirongbut |first16=Phimpha |last17=Poengsungnoen |first17=Vasun |last18=Duangphui |first18=Natwida |last19=Sodamuk |first19=Mattika |last20=Phokaeo |first20=Supatra |last21=Molsil |first21=Muthita |last22=Aptroot |first22=André |last23=Kalb |first23=Klaus |last24=Luecking |first24=Robert |last25=Lumbsch |first25=Thorsten |title=A new checklist of lichenized fungi occurring in Thailand |journal=MycoKeys |issue=23 |year=2017 |doi=10.3897/mycokeys.23.12666 |pages=1–91 [32] |doi-access=free}}</ref>

<ref name="CoL_3HNP8">{{Catalogue of Life |id=3HNP8 |title=''Gyalectidium novoguineense'' Sérus. |access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref>

<ref name="Ferraro et al. 2001">{{cite journal |last1=Ferraro |first1=Lidia I. |last2=Lücking |first2=Robert |last3=Sérusiaux |first3=Emmanuël |year=2001 |title=A world monograph of the lichen genus ''Gyalectidium'' (Gomphillaceae) |journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=137 |issue=3 |pages=311–345 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.2001.tb01126.x |doi-access=free}}</ref>

<ref name="Herrera-Campos et al. 2007">{{cite journal |last1=Herrera-Campos |first1=María De Los Ángeles |last2=Lücking |first2=Robert |last3=Pérez |first3=Rosa-Emilia |last4=Campos |first4=Álvaro |last5=Colín |first5=Paola Martínez |last6=Peña |first6=Alexandrina Bárcenas |title=The foliicolous lichen flora of Mexico. V. Biogeographical affinities, altitudinal preferences, and an updated checklist of 293 species |journal=The Lichenologist |volume=36 |issue=5 |year=2004 |doi=10.1017/S0024282904014483 |pages=309–327}}</ref>

<ref name="Papong et al. 2007">{{cite journal |last1=Papong |first1=Khwanruan |last2=Boonpragob |first2=Kansri |last3=Lücking |first3=Robert |title=New species and new records of foliicolous lichens from Thailand |journal=The Lichenologist |volume=39 |issue=1 |year=2007 |doi=10.1017/S0024282906006104 |pages=47–56}}</ref>

</references>

{{Taxonbar|from=Q21271033}}

[[Category:Gyalectidium|novoguineense]] [[Category:Lichen species]] [[Category:Lichens described in 2001]] [[Category:Lichens of Australia]] [[Category:Lichens of New Caledonia]] [[Category:Lichens of New Guinea]] [[Category:Taxa named by Emmanuël Sérusiaux]]