{{Short description|Genus of lichens}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = | taxon = Thecographa | authority = [[A.Massal.]] (1860) | type_species = Thecographa prosiliens | type_species_authority = (Mont. & Bosch) A.Massal. (1860) | synonyms_ref = <ref name="Species Fungorum synonymy"/> | synonyms = *''Emblemia'' {{au|[[Pers.]] (1827)}} *''Megalographa'' {{au|[[A.Massal.]] (1860)}} *''Phaeographina'' {{au|[[Müll.Arg.]] (1882)}} *''Phaeographinomyces'' {{au|[[Cif.]] & [[Tomas.]] (1953)}} | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = ''[[Thecographa ceramia|T. ceramia]]''<br /> ''[[Thecographa crassilabra|T. crassilabra]]''<br /> ''[[Thecographa prosiliens|T. prosiliens]]'' }}
'''''Thecographa''''' is a [[genus]] of [[lichen]]-forming [[fungi]] in the family [[Graphidaceae]].<ref name="CoL"/> It has three species of [[corticolous lichen|corticolous]] (bark-dwelling) [[script lichen]]s.<ref name="Wijayawardene et al. 2022"/> The genus was [[circumscription (taxonomy)|circumscribed]] by [[Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo]] in 1860. Although Massalongo did not assign a [[type species]] for the genus, [[David L. Hawksworth]] set ''[[Thecographa prosiliens]]'' as the type in 1981.<ref name="Hawksworth & Sherwood 1981"/> [[Morphology (biology)|Morphological]] characteristics of the genus include its {{lichengloss|sessile}} {{lichengloss|lirella}} (fruiting bodies), the lack of a {{lichengloss|thalline margin}}, and the complete {{lichengloss|carbonisation}} of the {{lichengloss|excipulum}}.<ref name="Lücking et al. 2009"/>
==Description== The genus ''Thecographa'' features [[apothecia]] (fruiting bodies) that are initially closed and embedded ({{lichengloss|hypophloedal}}), but later erupt to become open, elevated, and urn-shaped ({{lichengloss|urceolate}}). These apothecia often appear almost stalked, and are characteristically flexible, twisted, and angular. They are rarely and sparsely branched. The apothecia are equipped with a distinctive, {{lichengloss|carbonaceous}} excipulum that is cup-shaped. This structure is thin but consistent, enveloped by the thallus or tree bark on which the lichen lives. Over time, the covering epidermis may gradually disappear.<ref name="Massalongo 1860"/>
The {{lichengloss|disc}} of the apothecia is gelatinous, flattened, and tends to lose its colour, supported by a solid, almost papery base known as the {{lichengloss|hypothecium}}. The [[ascus|asci]] (spore-producing structures) are club-shaped and contain 2-4-8 spores, accompanied by [[paraphyses]] (sterile filaments interspersed among the asci). The spores are elliptical or ovoid, {{lichengloss|muriform}} (with multiple divisions), initially transparent but becoming cloudy and opaque over time. The thallus of ''Thecographa'' is spread out and irregularly shaped, embedding itself into the {{lichengloss|substrate}}.<ref name="Massalongo 1860"/>
==Species==
* ''[[Thecographa ceramia]]'' {{au|A.Massal. (1860)}} * ''[[Thecographa crassilabra]]'' {{au|(Mont. & Bosch) A.Massal. (1860)}} * ''[[Thecographa prosiliens]]'' {{au|(Mont. & Bosch) A.Massal. (1860)}}
==References== {{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="CoL">{{Catalogue of Life |id=7VGZ |title=''Thecographa'' |access-date=9 May 2024}}</ref>
<ref name="Hawksworth & Sherwood 1981">{{cite journal |last1=Hawksworth |first1=David L. |last2=Sherwood |first2=Martha A. |year=1981 |title=(559)–(579) Proposals for nomina conservanda and rejicienda for ascomycete names (lichenized and non-lichenized) |journal=Taxon |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=338–348 |jstor=1219426 |doi=10.2307/1219426}}</ref>
<ref name="Lücking et al. 2009">{{cite journal |authorlink1=Robert Lücking |last=Lücking |first=Robert |authorlink2=Alan W. Archer |last2=Archer |first2=Alan W. |authorlink3=André Aptroot |last3=Aptroot |first3=André |title=A world-wide key to the genus ''Graphis'' (Ostropales: Graphidaceae) |journal=The Lichenologist |volume=41 |issue=4 |year=2009 |doi=10.1017/s0024282909008305 |pages=363–452}}</ref>
<ref name="Massalongo 1860">{{cite journal |last=Massalongo |first=A.B. |year=1860 |title=Esame comparative di alcuni generi di licheni |journal=Atti dell'Imperiale Regio Istituto veneto di scienze, lettere ed arti |series=3 |volume=5 |issue=5 |page=316 |language=it |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044092906627&view=1up&seq=328}}</ref>
<ref name="Species Fungorum synonymy">{{cite web |title=Synonymy. Current Name: ''Thecographa'' A. Massal., Atti Inst. Veneto Sci. lett., ed Arti, Sér. 3 5: 316 (1860) [1859-1860]|url=https://www.speciesfungorum.org/Names/SynSpecies.asp?RecordID=5415 |publisher=[[Species Fungorum]] |access-date=9 May 2024}}</ref>
<ref name="Wijayawardene et al. 2022">{{cite journal |display-authors=6 |last1=Wijayawardene |first1=N.N. |last2=Hyde |first2=K.D. |last3=Dai |first3=D.Q. |last4=Sánchez-García |first4=M. |last5=Goto |first5=B.T. |last6=Saxena |first6=R.K. |last7=Erdoğdu |first7=M. |last8=Selçuk |first8=F. |last9=Rajeshkumar |first9=K.C. |last10=Aptroot |first10=A. |last11=Błaszkowski |first11=J. |last12=Boonyuen |first12=N. |last13=da Silva |first13=G. |last14=de Souza |first14=F.A. |last15=Dong |first15=W. |last16=Ertz |first16=D. |last17=Haelewaters |first17=D. |last18=Jones |first18=E.B. |last19=Karunarathna |first19=S.C. |last20=Kirk |first20=P.M. |last21=Kukwa |first21=M. |last22=Kumla |first22=J. |last23=Leontyev |first23=D.V. |last24=Lumbsch |first24=H.T. |last25=Maharachchikumbura |first25=S.S.N. |last26=Marguno |first26=F. |last27=Martínez-Rodríguez |first27=P. |last28=Mešić |first28=A. |last29=Monteiro |first29=J.S. |last30=Oehl |first30=F. |last31=Pawłowska |first31=J. |last32=Pem |first32=D. |last33=Pfliegler |first33=W.P. |last34=Phillips |first34=A.J.L. |last35=Pošta |first35=A. |last36=He |first36=M.Q. |last37=Li |first37=J.X. |last38=Raza |first38=M. |last39=Sruthi |first39=O.P. |last40=Suetrong |first40=S. |last41=Suwannarach |first41=N. |last42=Tedersoo |first42=L. |last43=Thiyagaraja |first43=V. |last44=Tibpromma |first44=S. |last45=Tkalčec |first45=Z. |last46=Tokarev |first46=Y.S. |last47=Wanasinghe |first47=D.N. |last48=Wijesundara |first48=D.S.A. |last49=Wimalaseana |first49=S.D.M.K. |last50=Madrid |first50=H. |last51=Zhang |first51=G.Q. |last52=Gao |first52=Y. |last53=Sánchez-Castro |first53=I. |last54=Tang |first54=L.Z. |last55=Stadler |first55=M. |last56=Yurkov |first56=A. |last57=Thines |first57=M. |year=2022 |title=Outline of Fungi and fungus-like taxa – 2021 |journal=Mycosphere |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=53–453 [161] |doi=10.5943/mycosphere/13/1/2 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358798332|hdl=1854/LU-8754813 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
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{{Taxonbar|from=Q107289461}}
[[Category:Graphidaceae]] [[Category:Graphidales genera]] [[Category:Lichen genera]] [[Category:Taxa described in 1860]] [[Category:Taxa named by Abramo Bartolommeo Massalongo]]