eight new lichen species and 88 new records from sri lanka · lanka. this hilly virgin rainforest,...

BioOne sees sustainable scholarly publishing as an inherently collaborative enterprise connecting authors, nonprofit publishers, academic institutions, researchlibraries, and research funders in the common goal of maximizing access to critical research.

Eight new lichen species and 88 new records from Sri LankaAuthor(s): Gothamie Weerakoon , Patricia A. Wolseley , Omal Arachchige , Marcela Eugenia da SilvaCáceres , Udeni Jayalal and André AptrootSource: The Bryologist, 119(2):131-142.Published By: The American Bryological and Lichenological Society, Inc.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1639/0007-2745-119.2.131URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1639/0007-2745-119.2.131

BioOne (www.bioone.org) is a nonprofit, online aggregation of core research in the biological, ecological, andenvironmental sciences. BioOne provides a sustainable online platform for over 170 journals and books publishedby nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Your use of this PDF, the BioOne Web site, and all posted and associated content indicates your acceptance ofBioOne’s Terms of Use, available at www.bioone.org/page/terms_of_use.

Usage of BioOne content is strictly limited to personal, educational, and non-commercial use. Commercial inquiriesor rights and permissions requests should be directed to the individual publisher as copyright holder.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1639/0007-2745-119.2.131

http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1639/0007-2745-119.2.131

http://www.bioone.org

http://www.bioone.org/page/terms_of_use

Eight new lichen species and 88 new records from Sri Lanka

Gothamie Weerakoon1, Patricia A. Wolseley2, Omal Arachchige3, Marcela Eugenia da SilvaCaceres4, Udeni Jayalal5 and Andre Aptroot6,7

1 Integrative Research Centre, Department of Science & Education, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, U.S.A.;2 Department of Botany, The Natural History Museum, London, UK; 3 D. S. Senanayake College, Colombo, Sri Lanka;

4 Departamento de Biociencias, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, CEP: 49500-000, Itabaiana, Sergipe, Brazil;5 Department of Natural Resources, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya, Sri Lanka; 6 ABL Herbarium,

G. v. d. Veenstraat 107, NL-3762 XK Soest, The Netherlands

ABSTRACT. Preliminary results are presented of a project aiming to explore the lichen biodiversity in SriLanka. The following mostly corticolous (one saxicolous) new species are described: Arthoniakarunaratnei with dark brown, round apothecia in groups that are surrounded by a bright orange area,with ascospores 2-septate, 9.0–10.5 3 3.5–4.5 lm; Enterographa wijesundarae with sessile, pruinoseapothecia with thin margins that are higher than the disc, with ascospores 13–17-septate, 50–60 3 4.5–5.5lm, without substances; Fellhanera stipitata with convex, brown apothecia, fusiform to clavate, 5–7-septate ascospores of 21–24.5 3 2.0–2.5 lm, and sessile to tubular pycnidia with conidia 4.5–5.5 3 1.5–2.0lm; Malmidea plicata which is similar to M. vinosa but with folded thallus and smaller ascospores; Phlyctislueckingii with ca. 0.2–0.3 mm large, grey-pruinose apothecia in dense groups and fusiform 7-septateascospores of 27–29 3 5.5–6.5 lm; thallus with norstictic acid.; Porina viridipustulata with numerouspustules of ca. 0.2–0.7 mm diam. and ca. 0.1–0.3 mm high and ascospores 3–7-septate, 57–60 3 12–13lm; Stirtonia isidiata with glossy white thallus with isidia, which are partly globose but mostly irregularlycylindrical, often with some constrictions or branching, usually gnarled and decumbent, generally ca. 0.2–0.3 mm thick and up to ca. 2 mm long; ascigerous areas apothecium-like, sessile; ascus with 1 ascospore,ca. 250 3 150 lm; ascospores hyaline, broadly fusiform 7–9-septate, 210–225 3 105–115 lm.; andTrypetheliopsis hirsuta with black, ear-shaped, pointed, glossy campylidia of ca. 0.4–0.9 mm diam., ca. 0.5–1.2 mm high, at the outside with black bristles. Furthermore, 88 lichen species are newly recorded from SriLanka, including 55 species new for the Indian subcontinent. Interestingly, eight of these are first reportsfrom the whole of the Palaeotropics. These species were previously known only from either Costa Rica orthe Amazonian and/or Atlantic rain forest of Brazil.

KEYWORDS. Corticolous, saxicolous, Indian Subcontinent, Arthonia, Enterographa, Fellhanera, Malmidea,Phlyctis, Porina, Stirtonia, Trypetheliopsis.

^ ^ ^

The combination of a topographically varied andgeologically ancient landscape and repeated influxesof biota from spatially and temporally disparatebiogeographic regions have resulted in the highlydiverse lichen flora of Sri Lanka, including speciesthat are absent from India (Weerakoon 2015;Weerakoon & Aptroot 2013, 2014; Weerakoon etal. 2012a,b,c, 2014, 2015). More than 4000 floweringplants are known from Sri Lanka (de Vlas & de Vlas

2008), 250 butterfly species (Jayasinghe 2015) and100 snakes (Wickramasinghe 2014), including manyendemics. At the moment, almost 1200 lichenspecies are known from Sri Lanka (Weerakoon etal. in prep.), almost half of which are in theGraphidaceae. However, given the poor state ofknowledge of many Sri Lankan lichen groups,including the Graphidaceae (Lucking et al. 2014),it is likely that 2000 or more lichen species could befound on the island.

This paper documents a large number of newrecords for the country and is based on collections

7 Corresponding author’s e-mail: [email protected]

DOI: 10.1639/0007-2745-119.2.131

The Bryologist 119(2), pp. 131–142 Published online: May 17 2016 0007-2745/16/$1.35/0Copyright �2016 by The American Bryological and Lichenological Society, Inc.

made during a lichen expedition carried out by theauthors during the first months of 2015, funded bythe National Geographic Society and DilmahConservation. In these collections, there were eightlichen species new to science that are described andillustrated here. The eight new species described herehave distinctive morphological characters and differfrom all the known species in their respective genera.

Lichens were collected from pristine forests,wildlife reserves and secondary vegetation in wet anddry lowlands, as well as submontane and montaneareas of Sri Lanka. Crustose lichens are dominant inall habitats, and squamulose to microfoliose speciesare generally more frequent than macrolichens.Fruticose and foliose lichens are mostly confined tosubmontane and montane habitats on the island. Forthis paper, most of the crustose groups have beenexamined, with the exception of the Graphidaceae,which will be treated separately.

STUDY AREA

For this study, lichens were collected more orless extensively from Wilpattu National Park,Hakgala Botanical Garden, the Botanical Garden inPeradeniya, Horton Plains, Victoria Park of Nuwar-aeliya, and Knuckles Mountain region. Short pros-pecting expeditions were carried out to Adam’s Peak,Morningsite and Pitadeniya of Sinharaja, Kanneliya,Namunukula, Maragala, Lahugala, Dambakolapatu-na and Nagadeepa in Jaffna. On earlier occasionslichens were collected in forest patches in Nawala-pitiya, Pidurutalagala Mountain and Gallways landin Nuwaraeliya.

Sinharaja Forest Reserve (68250N, 808300E) is anational park and a biodiversity hotspot in SriLanka. This hilly virgin rainforest, part of the SriLanka lowland rain forests ecoregion, is a treasuretrove of endemic species, including trees, insects,amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals (De Silva2014). Kanneliya belongs to the Kanneliya-Dediya-gala-Nakiyadeniya Reserve (Bandaratillake 2003), aforest complex in southern Sri Lanka. The forestcomplex is designated as a Biosphere Reserve andWorld Heritage Site in 2004 by UNESCO since it isone of the floristically richest areas in South Asia.Adam’s Peak (Butterfly Mountain) is a 2243 m (7359ft, 068480N and 808300E) tall conical mountainlocated in central Sri Lanka. It is well known forthe sacred footprint, a rock formation near thesummit, which in Buddhist tradition is held to be the

footprint of the Buddha (Ricci 2011). Over twohundred lichen specimens were collected during ahike on Adam’s Peak by the first and fourth authors.

Pidurutalagala (Straw Plateau Rock or MountPedro) is the highest mountain in Sri Lanka, at 2524m (8282 ft, 7800N, 808460E; Pathirana 1980). HortonPlains National Park is a protected area in the centralhighlands of Sri Lanka and is covered by montanegrassland and cloud forest. This plateau at analtitude of 2100–2300 m (6900–7500 ft, 6848000 00N,80848000 00E), is rich in biodiversity and many speciesfound here are endemic to the region (De Silva 2014;Jayalal et al. 2012; Weerakoon et al. 2015). Galway’sLand National Park (68580N, 80846038 00E) is a smallnational park situated within the city limits ofNuwara Eliya in Sri Lanka. This park is recognized asone the most significant birding sites in Sri Lanka.Apart from the avifauna, the park has valuable floralspecies of both native and foreign origin (Kotagama2006).

Knuckles Mountain Range (knuckles of clenchedfist, Dumbara Kanduvetiya, 78270N, 808480E) exhib-its the conditions of all the climatic zones in thecountry (Cooray 1984). This mountain range ishome to a significant proportion of the country’sbiodiversity (De Silva 2014; Weerakoon 2013;Weerakoon et al. 2015). The first author has workedon the lichens of this mountain range since 2008(Weerakoon 2013; Weerakoon et al. 2012a,b), andan additional expedition was carried out to collectlichens from unexplored locations.

Wilpattu National Park (Land of Lakes), one ofthe oldest National Parks in Sri Lanka, is located inthe northwest coast lowland dry zone of Sri Lanka(88250N, 80800E). Wilpattu is among the top nationalparks world-renowned for its leopard (Pantherapardus kotiya) population (The National Red List2012). Namunukula, Maragala and Lahugala aresituated in the dry zone of the country. The mainPeak of Namunukula (Nine peaks) Mountain Rangeis 2011 m (6600 feet, 68520N, 81870E). Maragalakan-da (Geelong, 1111 m, 3382 feet, 68870N, 818380E) isone of the least visited mountains with four mainpeaks, located in the dry zone of Sri Lanka, andisolated from the central belt, yet having montaneand submontane forests.

Lahugala-Kitulana National Park (6853 0N,818400E) is one of the smallest national parks in SriLanka. Despite its land area, the park is an importanthabitat for the Sri Lankan elephant and endemicbirds (Puvaneswaran & Smithson 1993).

132 The Bryologist 119(2): 2016

Jaffna Peninsula (98400N, 80800E), is situatedvery close to South India. The peninsula is mostlysurrounded by water, connected to the rest of theisland by a small strip of land, and has a very dryclimate (Jeyaruba & Thushyanthy 2009). The lichenexpedition to Jaffna Peninsula carried out in March2015 was the first in history. Lichens were collectedfrom a few places during a five day expedition.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Identification and descriptive work was carriedout at the Field Museum in Chicago and in Soestusing Olympus stereomicroscopes and Olympuscompound microscopes with interference contrast,connected to a Nikon Coolpix digital camera. Allmeasurements were made on sections mounted intap water. All specimens of this study are preservedin PD, and with a duplicate of each specimen in F.The chemistry of the type specimen of each newspecies has been investigated by thin-layer chroma-tography (TLC) using solvent A and by observingextract recrystallization in acetone with a compoundmicroscope (Orange et al. 2001). Chemical reactionswere applied directly on cortex or medulla and onacetone extracts on filter paper.

TAXONOMY

Arthonia karunaratnei Weerakoon & Aptroot, sp.

nov. Fig. 1A–C

MYCOBANK MB 815540

Corticolous Arthonia with dark brown, round apothe-

cia in groups which are surrounded by a bright

orange area, with ascospores 2-septate, 9.0–10.5 3

3.5–4.5 lm.

TYPE: SRI LANKA. Imbulpitiya, on bark of tree, 23

January 2015, G. Weerakoon & O. Arachchige

Im33 (holotype: PD; isotype: F).

Description. Thallus crustose, continuous butoften appearing absent, not corticate, dull, paleochraceous (except for orange zones around theapothecia), endoperidermal and occasionally flakingoff the bark surface, surrounded by a usually diffusebrown prothallus. Photobiont trentepohlioid. Asco-mata erumpent to sessile, round or ellipsoidal, inlinear to branched groups of 5–25, disc dark brownto black with an orange hue, ca. 0.2–0.3 mm wide,without margin, but surrounded by a bright orangearea of ca. 0.2–0.3 mm wide. The resulting groups of

apothecia together with surrounding orange thallusare ca. 1.0–2.0 mm diam. Epihymenium with darkbrown crystals. Hypothecium hyaline. Hamatheciumnot inspersed, weakly amyloid, paraphysoids 1–1.5lm wide, anastomosing and often somewhat curled.Asci clavate, 22–25 3 10–12.5 lm, dextrinoid.Ascospores 8/ascus, hyaline, consistently 2-septate,broadly clavate, 9.0–10.5 3 3.5–4.5 lm, luminasomewhat rounded, upper lumina largest. Pycnidianot observed.

Chemistry. Thallus and apothecia UV–, C–, P–,K–, orange area Kþ purple. TLC: an anthraquinone.

Etymology. Named after Prof. Dr. VeranjaKarunaratne, a pioneer of lichen chemistry in SriLanka.

Ecology and distribution. On smooth bark oftrees in rain forest. Known only from Sri Lanka.

Discussion. The genus Arthonia is a predomi-nantly tropical group of crustose lichens comprisingca. 500 species, of which only the lichenicolousspecies with anthraquinones have been recentlymonographed (Grube et al. 1995). However, theremaining species with anthraquinones have alsobeen examined and there are only two otherArthonia species known with orange pigmentsurrounding the apothecia, the corticolous A.ochrocincta Nyl. ex Willey (Grube, pers. comm.),which differs by the consistently 3-septate asco-spores, and the foliicolous A. mira R.Sant. (Lucking2008), which differs by solitary, round to lobateapothecia.

Enterographa wijesundarae Weerakoon & Aptroot,

sp. nov. Fig. 1D–E

MYCOBANK MB 815541

Corticolous Enterographa with sessile, pruinose apo-

thecia with thin margins that are higher than the

disc, with ascospores 13–17-septate, 50–60 3 4.5–

5.5 lm, without substances.

TYPE: SRI LANKA. Morningsite, on bark of tree, 24

April 2015, G. Weerakoon & O. Arachchcige

Mo11 (holotype: PD; isotype: F).

Description. Thallus crustose, continuous butoften appearing absent, not corticate, dull, palepinkish to pale brownish, very thin and closelyfollowing the bark surface, surrounded by a thinbrown prothallus. Photobiont trentepohlioid. Asco-mata sessile, superficial on the thallus, round orellipsoidal to branched and gnarled, disc dark brown

Weerakoon et al.: New lichens from Sri Lanka 133

Figure 1. A–C. Arthonia karunaratnei (holotype). A. Habitus. B. Ascus. C. Ascospore. D–E. Enterographa wijesundarae (holotype). D. Ascospores. E.

Habitus. F–H. Fellhanera stipitata (holotype). F. Section through central part of apothecium. G. Habitus. H. Conidiophores and conidia. Scale in A¼ 1

mm, B, D ¼ 15 lm, C¼ 5 lm, E & G ¼ 0.5 mm, F¼ 20 lm, H ¼ 25 lm.


to black but white to grey pruinose, 0.2–0.5 mmwide, margin raised above the disc, ochraceouswhite, ca. 0.05 mm wide. Excipulum hyaline to palebrownish. Epihymenium internally with pale brownpigmentation. Hamathecium not inspersed, weaklyamyloid, paraphysoids 1–1.5 lm wide, anastomosingand often somewhat curled. Asci cylindrico-clavate,75–85 3 15–25 lm, tholus amyloid. Ascospores 8/ascus, hyaline, 13–17-septate, narrowly clavate, 50–60 3 4.5–5.5 lm, surrounded by a 1.5–2.5 lm widegelatinous sheath, lumina somewhat rounded. Pyc-nidia not observed.

Chemistry. Thallus and apothecia UV–, C–, P–,K–. TLC: no substances.

Etymology. Named after Dr. Siril Wijesundara,former Director of the Botanic Gardens andNational Herbarium in Sri Lanka who made theexpedition possible.


Discussion. The genus Enterographa is a pre-dominantly tropical group of crustose Roccellaceaecomprising ca. 50 species (Seavey & Seavey 2014;Sparrius 2004). This new species is close inappearance to E. rotundata E.L.Lima, M.Caceres &Aptroot (Aptroot et al. 2013), a species that wasmissed by Seavey & Seavey (2014). The two speciesshare the sessile apothecia with thin margins that arehigher than the discs. However, E. rotundata hasascomata that do not become branched andascospores that are only (3–)7-septate.

Fellhanera stipitata Weerakoon & Aptroot, sp. nov.

Fig. 1F–H

MYCOBANK MB 815542

Corticolous Fellhanera with convex, brown apothecia,

fusiform to clavate, 5–7-septate ascospores of 21–

24.5 3 2.0–2.5 lm, and sessile to tubulare

pycnidia with conidia 4.5–5.5 3 1.5–2.0 lm.

TYPE: SRI LANKA. Nallamale, Namunukula, on bark

of tree, 7 April 2015, G. Weerakoon & O.

Arachchige Mn89 (holotype: PD; isotype: F).

Description. Thallus thin, finely granular, green,without cortex, without prothallus. Photobiontchlorococcoid, ca. 5–10 lm diam. Apothecia sessile,0.4–0.7 mm diam., round, the larger ones lobate,solitary or 2 together, disc soon convex, dull,medium brown, margin pale, not higher than thedisc, ca. 0.1 mm wide. Hymenium hyaline, 55–75

lm high, IKI– except for the ascus tips; paraphyseswithout clear septa towards the tip, which issomewhat clavate and up to ca. 3 lm wide;epithecium hyaline, gelatinous; hypothecium reddishbrown; excipulum hyaline, composed of dense cellswith rather angular lumina of ca. 4–7.5 lm. AscusPilocarpaceae-type with 8 ascospores, ca. 45–60 3 6–9.5 lm. Ascospores hyaline, fusiform to clavate, 5–7-septate, 21–24.5 3 2.0–2.5 lm, with somewhatrounded ends. Pycnidia numerous, sessile to tubular,cup-shaped, pale brown with pale margins, ca. 0.1–0.2 mm diam. and ca. 0.1–0.2 mm high. Conidiahyaline, ellipsoid, 4.5–5.5 3 1.5–2.0 lm, withrounded ends.

Chemistry. Thallus UV–, C–, K–, KC–, P–. Nolichen substances detected with TLC.

Etymology. Named after the stipitate pycnidia.


Discussion. The genus Fellhanera is still ratherincompletely known, with so far ca. 65 acceptedspecies (Lucking 2008). This species is specialbecause of the numerous sessile to stipitate pycnidia,and is reminiscent of the foliicolous F. pilomarginataLucking (Lucking 2008), with which it shares thesessile to stipitate pycnidia. This species is howeverstrictly foliicolous and has 3-septate ascospores ofonly 12.5–15 lm long.

Malmidea plicata Weerakoon & Aptroot, sp. nov.

Fig. 2A

MYCOBANK MB 815543

Saxicolous Malmidea similar to M. vinosa but with

folded thallus and smaller ascospores.

TYPE: SRI LANKA. Nallamale, Namunukula, on rock,

17 February 2015, G. Weerakoon & O. Arach-

chcige Ho233 (holotype: PD; isotype: F).

Description. Thallus ca. 0.1 mm thick, dull, grey,much plicate-folded so as to become almost lobateand thus locally up to 3 mm high, without warts,with a blackish brown hypothallus underneath thewhole thallus and surrounded by a black, ratherdiffuse, prothallus. Photobiont chlorococcoid, ca. 73 5 lm. Apothecia sessile, 0.2–2.0 mm diam., discflat, dull, medium brown. Margin dull, ca. 0.1 mmwide, pale ochraceous, higher than the disc; on theborder of the disc and the margin there is often athin black line indicating the presence of a para-thecium. Hymenium hyaline, 45–55 lm high;


hypothecium dark brown to black, up to 150 lm

thick; excipulum not corticate, without crystals. Asci

cylindrical, 45–60 3 8–11 lm. Ascospores hyaline,

IKI–, simple, ellipsoid, 7.5–8.5 3 3.0–3.5 lm, ends

somewhat pointed but not thickened. Pycnidia not

observed.

Chemistry. Thallus UV–, C–, K–, KC–, P–. Nolichen substances detected with TLC.

Etymology. Named after the plicate (folded)thallus.

Ecology and distribution. On smooth rock inrain forest. Known only from Sri Lanka.

Figure 2. A. Malmidea plicata (holotype). A. Habitus. B–D. Phlyctis lueckingii (holotype). B. Habitus. C. Section through apothecium. D. Ascospore. E–

G. Porina viridipustulata (holotype). E. Ascoma. F. Habitus with pustules. G. Marginal part of thallus with prothallus. Scale in A, B, E, F & G¼0.5 mm, C

¼ 50 lm, D ¼ 10 lm.


Discussion. The genus Malmidea in the separatefamily Malmideaceae was only recently described andis still incompletely known, with ca. 50 knownspecies worldwide (Breuss & Lucking 2015; Kalb etal. 2011), but many additional, already describedspecies in this group are still included under Lecideaand new species are now described quite regularly.This new species is characterized by the saxicoloushabitat, the folded thallus and the tiny ascospores.The apothecia superficially resemble those of M.vinosa (Eschw.) Kalb, Rivas Plata & Lumbsch. Thefolds of the new species seem to be caused by thethallus, which continues to grow laterally even whenthe total area is covered and it thus expandsvertically in folds.

Phlyctis lueckingii Weerakoon & Aptroot, sp. nov.

Fig. 2B–D

MYCOBANK MB 815544

Corticolous Phlyctis with ca. 0.2–0.3 mm large, grey-

pruinose apothecia in dense groups and fusiform

7-septate ascospores of 27–29 3 5.5–6.5 lm;

thallus with norstictic acid.

TYPE: SRI LANKA. Dothalugala, on bark of tree, 8

March 2015, G. Weerakoon & P.A. Wolseley

Kn02A (holotype: PD; isotype: F).

Description. Thallus ca. 0.2 mm thick, finelygranular, bluish grey, without cortex. Photobiontchlorococcoid, ca. 4–6 lm diam. Apothecia im-mersed in the thallus, disc flush with the thallussurface, ca. 0.2–0.3 mm diam., round to oval, indense groups of 10–50, disc flat, dull, grey due todense pruina, margin of thallus color or paler andwhitish, higher than the disc, ca. 0.1 mm wide.Hymenium hyaline, 55–75 lm high, IKI– except forthe ascus tips; paraphyses unbranched; hypotheciumhyaline; excipulum hyaline. Ascus with 8 ascospores,ca. 50–65 3 9–12.5 lm. Ascospores hyaline,fusiform, 7-septate, 27–29 3 5.5–6.5 lm, withrounded ends. Pycnidia not observed.

Chemistry. Thallus UV–, C–, Kþ yellow . red,P–. TLC: norstictic acid.

Etymology. Named after our colleague Dr.Robert Lucking.


Discussion. The genus Phlyctis is a small groupwith currently ca. 25 species (Joshi et al. 2012). Thisspecies differs from the other Phlyctis species with

transversely septate ascospores and norstictic acid,viz. P. andensis Nyl., P. brasiliensis Nyl., P.endecamara (Nyl.) Nyl. and P. uncinata Stirt., bythe smaller ascospores with rounded ends.

Porina viridipustulata Weerakoon & Aptroot, sp.

nov. Fig. 2E–G

MYCOBANK MB 815545

Corticolous Porina with numerous pustules of ca. 0.2–

0.7 mm diam. and ca. 0.1–0.3 mm high and

ascospores 3–7-septate, 57–60 3 12–13 lm.

TYPE: SRI LANKA. Monaragala, on bark of tree, 7

April 2015, G. Weerakoon & O. Arachchige

Mn34A (holotype: PD; isotype: F); Wilpattu, on

bark of tree, 1 March 2015, G. Weerakoon & P.A.

Wolseley WL069 (paratype: PD; isoparatype: F).

Description. Thallus corticate, smooth, shiny,continuous, thin, olive green, surrounded by a blackprothallus. Pustules numerous, not confluent, ca.0.2–0.7 mm diam. and ca. 0.1–0.3 mm high, hollow,becoming cupular, paler green than the thallus,inside and on the margins fully or mostly covered byfarinose soredia, medulla whitish. Photobiont tren-tepohlioid. Ascomata hemispherical, ca. 0.5–0.7 mmdiam., fully covered by thallus except for a brown ca.0.1 mm wide ostiole. Ascospores young, 3–7-septate,57–60 3 12–13 lm. Pycnidia not observed.

Chemistry. Thallus UV–, C–, K–, KC–, P–. Nosubstances detected with TLC.

Etymology. Named after the presence of pus-tules.


Discussion. This is the first Porina describedwith pustules. Only few perithecia are present, andthe glossy thallus with black prothallus is also verycharacteristic of the genus. Vegetative propagules arerelatively common in the genus, but are always moreor less in the shape of isidia. See Caceres et al. (2013)for a discussion of many isidiate Porina species;species with unusual shapes of isidia are reported byLucking (2008) and Lucking et al. (2013).

Stirtonia isidiata Weerakoon, Wolseley & Aptroot,

sp. nov. Fig. 3A–D

MYCOBANK MB 815546

Corticolous Stirtonia with glossy white thallus with

isidia, which are partly globose but mostly

irregularly cylindrical, often with some constric-


Figure 3. A–D. Stirtonia isidiata (holotype). A. Habitus with isidia. B. Ascigerous area. C. Ascus. D. Upper part of an ascospore. E–G. Trypetheliopsis

hirsuta (holotype). E–F. Habitus. G. Conidia. Scale in A, B, E & F ¼ 0.5 mm, C¼ 50 lm, D ¼ 20 lm, G¼ 10 lm.


tions or branching, usually gnarled and decum-

bent, generally ca. 0.2–0.3 mm thick and up to ca.

2 mm long. Ascigerous areas apothecium-like,

sessile. Ascus with 1 ascospore, ca. 250 3 150 lm.

Ascospores hyaline, broadly fusiform 7–9-septate,

210–225 3 105–115 lm.

TYPE: SRI LANKA. Horton, on bark of tree, 23

February 2015, G. Weerakoon & P.A. Wolseley

HoB4 (holotype: PD; isotype: F).

Description. Thallus thin, glossy, shiny, almostwhite, with cortex. Isidia almost white, partlyglobose but mostly irregularly cylindrical, often withsome constrictions or branching, usually gnarled anddecumbent, generally ca. 0.2–0.3 mm thick and up toca. 2 mm long. Photobiont trentepohlioid, ca. 5–9lm diam. Ascigerous areas apothecium-like, sessile,ca. 0.5–0.7 mm diam., up to ca. 0.3 mm high, round,white with brown asci visible. Interascal tissue muchbranched and anastomosing hyphae. Ascus with 1ascospore, ca. 250 3 150 lm. Ascospores hyaline,broadly fusiform 7–9-septate, 210–225 3 105–115lm, with rounded ends, with ca. 1.5 lm thick wall.Pycnidia not observed.

Chemistry. Thallus UV–, C–, K–, KC–, P–. TLC:2 unknowns, position of TLC plate resembling butnot identical with barbatic and obtusatic acids.

Etymology. Named for the presence of isidia.


Discussion. The genus Stirtonia is a tropical genuscomprising ca. 25 known species (Aptroot et al. 2014;Seavey & Seavey 2015). This is the first species withisidia. It is also one of the relatively few species with a(smooth) cortex. Moreover, it is the only species inwhich the ascospores are single within the ascus.

Trypetheliopsis hirsuta Weerakoon, Arachchcige &

Aptroot, sp. nov. Fig. 3E–G

MYCOBANK MB 815547

Corticolous Trypetheliopsis with black, ear-shaped,

pointed, glossy campylidia of ca. 0.4–0.9 mm

diam., ca. 0.5–1.2 mm high, at the outside with

black bristles.

TYPE: SRI LANKA. Morningsite, on bark of tree, 19

April 2015, G. Weerakoon & O. Arachchcige

Mo97 (holotype: PD; isotype: F).

Description. Thallus corticate, smooth, shiny,continuous, thin, olive grey, surrounded by an

opaque whitish prothallus. Photobiont trentepoh-lioid. Ascomata not observed. Campylidia abundant,black, ear-shaped, pointed, glossy, ca. 0.4–0.9 mmdiam., ca. 0.5–1.2 mm high, at the outside with blackbristles of up to 140 lm long and up to ca. 35 lmthick. Conidia hyaline, ellipsoid, 6–7 3 3–3.5 lm,with rounded ends.

Chemistry. Thallus UV–, C–, K–, KC–, P–. Nosubstances detected with TLC.

Etymology. Named after the presence of bristles.


Discussion. Trypetheliopsis is a small tropicalgenus with seven species known (Kashiwadani et al.2009). The generic name was taken up by Kashiwa-dani et al. (2009) for a small group of species thatwas known for a long time as Musaespora (Aptroot &Sipman 1993). The new species is closest to T. kalbii(Serus. & Lucking) Aptroot and T. kassamensis(Serus.) Aptroot, but differs by the bristles on thecampylidia. The placement in this genus and theuniqueness of the species are beyond doubt, eventhough no ascomata are known, because thesecampylidia are very characteristic.

NEW RECORDS

The 88 lichen species listed in Table 1 are newlyrecorded from Sri Lanka. These include 56 speciesthat are new for the Indian subcontinent. Seven ofthese are first reports from the whole of thePalaeotropics. These species were previously knownonly from either Costa Rica or the Amazonian and/or Atlantic rain forest of Brazil.

CONCLUSIONS

A total of 1200 lichen species (Weerakoon et al.in prep.) are currently known from a range ofdisturbed and undisturbed vegetation types from SriLanka. The large number of new lichen recordsfound within a limited period of fieldwork suggeststhat a significant part of the lichen biodiversity of SriLanka remains to be discovered. It should be notedthat among these new records, eight species werefound that were previously only known to theNeotropics. These are new to Asia. These specieswere all described in the last decades from eitherCosta Rica or Brazil. This demonstrates that evensome of the recently described species may havewider distributions outside the Neotropics. So far,


Table 1. Lichen species that are new records for Sri Lanka. Symbols: *** Genus is new for the Indian Subcontinent,** Genus is new for Sri Lanka.

Collecting localities: AD–Adam’s Peak, Im–Imbulpitiya, Hg–Hakgala Botanical Garden, Ho–Horton Plains, JF–Jaffna, Ka–Kanneliya, Kn–Knuckles, Mn–

Monaragala, Mo–Morningsite, Ne–Nuwaraeliya, Ri–Rilhena, Si–Sinharaja, WL–Wilpattu.

Species No. Status

Agonimia pacifica (H.Harada) Diederich Ne 195, Ne 332, Ho 70 New record for Indian subcontinent***

Anisomeridium palavanum (Vain.) R.C.Harris Ka 14, WL 45

Anisomeridium subnexum (Nyl.) R.C.Harris WL 25B

Anisomeridium subtruncatum Aptroot Ho 42, Ho 255 New record for Indian subcontinent

Anisomeridium tamarindi (Fee) R.C.Harris Im 51 New record for Indian subcontinent

Arthonia catenatula Nyl. Ne 203

Arthonia parantillarum Aptroot JF 01A New record for Indian subcontinent

Arthothelium bessale (Nyl.) Zahlbr. Mn 69, Mn 71, WL 14, WL 058F, Mo 105

Arthothelium corticatum Makhija & Patw. WL 19

Astrothelium subfuscum Kremp. Hg 96 New record for Indian subcontinent

Bacidia polychroa (Th.Fr.) Korb. Ad 120, Ho 223A, Kn 30A, Ho 2- 2A, Ne 330 New record for Indian subcontinent

Bacidina penicillata Aptroot, M.Caceres, Lucking & Sparrius Ne 160A, Si 07 New record for Indian subcontinent

Buellia subdisciformis (Leight.) Jatta Mn 62, Mn 91

Calicium lenticulare Ach. Ne 154, Ne 158 New record for Indian subcontinent

Caloplaca aphanotripta (Nyl.) Zahlbr. Ne 220, Ne 328 New record for Indian subcontinent

Caloplaca camptidia (Tuck.) Zahlbr. WL 36 New record for Indian subcontinent

Caloplaca flavovirescens (Wulfen) Dalla Torre & Sarnth. Ho 243

Caloplaca lobulata (Florke) Hellb. Hg 68 New record for Indian subcontinent

Candelaria crawfordii (Mull. Arg.) P.M.Jørg. & D.J.Galloway Ho 195 New record for Indian subcontinent

Candelariella reflexa (Nyl.) Lettau Kn 115A, Ne 510 p.p. New record for Indian subcontinent

Celothelium aciculiferum (Nyl.) Vain. Ho 60, Si 66 New record for Indian subcontinent***

Collema actinoptychum Nyl. Mo 30

Cratiria obscurior (Stirt.) Marbach & Kalb Mn 59, Kn 173, Hg 108

Cresponea flava (Vain.) Egea & Torrente Mn 87

Cresponea plurilocularis (Nyl.) Egea & Torrente JF 11

Crustospathula khaoyaiana Kalb & Mongkolsuk Si 44 New record for Indian subcontinent***

Crypthonia polillensis (Vain.) Frisch & G.Thor. Si 95 New record for Indian subcontinent***

Cryptothecia faveomaculata Makhija & Patw. WL 45B, Ri 114

Cryptothecia irregularis Lucking, Aptroot, Kalb & Elix AD 105 New record for Indian subcontinent

Cryptothecia macrospora Makhija & Patw. Ne 204

Cryptothecia monospora (Vain.) Makhija & Patw. Hg 11, Hg 50 New record for Indian subcontinent

Cryptothecia scripta G.Thor Ri 74, Hg 139

Cryptothecia verrucominuta Makhija & Patw. Mo 101

Dibaeis sorediata Kalb & Gierl Ne 336, Mo 98 New record for Indian subcontinent

Flakea papillata O.E.Erikss. Ri 35 New record for Indian subcontinent***

Fuscopannaria siamensis P.M.Jørg. & Wolseley Ne 348

Gassicurtia clathrisidiata Aptroot Ne 213 New record for Indian subcontinent***

Gyalectaria gyalectoides (Vezda) I.Schmitt, Kalb & Lumbsch Im 45 New record for Indian subcontinent***

Heterodermia flavosquamosa Aptroot & Sipman Hg 82 New record for the Palaeotropics

Julella geminella (Nyl.) R.C.Harris WL 18 **

Laurera meristosporoides P.M.McCarthy & Vongshew Mo 90 New record for Indian subcontinent**

Lecanora ecoronata Vain. Kn 191 New record for Indian subcontinent

Lecanora fimbriatula Stirt. Mo 52, Mn 02, Ne 268

Lecanora leproplaca Zahlbr. Hg 69, AD 076B, AD 061A New record for Indian subcontinent

Lecanora pseudistera Nyl. Mn 92

Lecidella enteroleucella (Nyl.) Hertel Mn 103 **

Lithothelium decumbens (Mull. Arg.) Aptroot Si 73A

Malmidea eeuuae Kalb AD 66 New record for Indian subcontinent

Malmidea fellhaneroides (Lucking) Kalb & Lucking Mn 72, Ne 330 New record for Indian subcontinent

Malmidea flavopustulosa (Caceres & Lucking) Caceres & Kalb Mo 12C p.p. New record for Asia

Malmidea piae (Kalb) Kalb Mn 90, WL 11 New record for Indian subcontinent

Malmidea piperina (Zahlbr.) Aptroot & Breuss Kn 22, Mo 93, Kn 27, Kn 24, Si 79A New record for Indian subcontinent


macrolichens have received most attention, althoughsome macrolichens are still reported here for the firsttime from Sri Lanka. Corticolous lichens have beencollected more frequently than saxicolous lichens,which are not abundant but represent a wide varietyas the rock types vary a lot over the country.Terricolous and foliicolous lichens are not wellsampled either. Many crustose species have beenoverlooked so far as they are only likely to be foundor identified by people who know them.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The National Geographic Society of U.S.A. and Dilmah Conserva-

tion of Sri Lanka are warmly thanked for their generous

contribution for the field work. Gothamie Weerakoon is grateful

to Thorsten Lumbsch for his help in many instances in the Field

Museum. The Linnean Society of London is thanked for a travel

grant to Patricia Wolseley and the Stichting Hugo de Vries-fonds is

thanked for a travel grant to Andre Aptroot.

LITERATURE CITED

Aptroot, A. & H. J. M. Sipman. 1993. Musaespora, a genus of

pyrenocarpous lichens with campylidia, and other additions to

the foliicolous lichen flora of New Guinea. Lichenologist 25:

121–135.

Aptroot, A., D. Ertz, E. L. Lima, K. A. de Jesus, L. C. Maia & M. E. S.

Caceres. 2013. Two new species of Roccellaceae (Ascomycota:

Arthoniales) from Brazil, with the description of the new genus

Sergipea. Lichenologist 45: 627–634.

Aptroot, A., H. J. M. Sipman, M. Kaffer, S. M. A. Martins, L. I.

Ferraro & M. E. S. Caceres. 2014. A world key to Stirtonia

Table 1. Continued.

Species No. Status

Malmidea subaurigera (Vain.) Kalb, Rivas Plata & Lumbsch Ne 317, Mn 75 New record for Indian

Mazosia viridescens (Fee) Aptroot & M.Caceres WL 83, Ri 10 New record for Indian subcontinent

Megalotremis cauliflora Aptroot, Serus. & Lucking Ho89 New record for the Palaeotropics

Micarea corallothallina M.Caceres, D.A.Mota & Aptroot Ne 199 New record for the Palaeotropics

Micarea peliocarpa (Anzi) Coppins Ne 344 New record for Indian subcontinent

Monerolechia badia (Fr.) Kalb Ne 342 New record for Indian subcontinent***

Monoblastia pellucida Aptroot AD 010

Mycomicrothelia macrocarpa Komposch, Aptroot & Hafellner WL11, WL 53 New record for the Palaeotropics**

Myeloconis erumpens P.M. McCarthy & Elix Ri 64B New record for Indian subcontinent***

Opegrapha robusta Vain. AD 118, Mo 103 New record for Indian subcontinent

Polymeridium amylosporum (Vain.) Aptroot Im 38 New record for Indian subcontinent

Protoparmelia isidiata Diederich, Aptroot & Serus. Ne 202 New record for Indian subcontinent

Protoparmelia multifera (Nyl.) Kantvilas, Papong & Lumbsch Im 61 New record for Indian subcontinent

Psoroglaena stigonemoides (Orange) Henssen Ne 195 , Ne 157 New record for Indian subcontinent***

Psoroma sphinctrinum (Mont.) Nyl. Mo107 New record for Indian subcontinent

Pyrenula complanata (Mont.) Trevis Ho 44, Si 141, Ri 64A New record for Indian subcontinent

Pyrenula crassiuscula (Malme) Aptroot PD 01, Hg 38, Hg 97, Ho 46 New record for the

Pyrenula cryptothelia (Mull. Arg.) Aptroot & Etayo HO 67 New record for Indian subcontinent

Pyrenula cubana (Mull. Arg.) R.C.Harris Ho 92 New record for Indian subcontinent

Pyrenula media Aptroot Ri 02, Ri 116 New record for Indian subcontinent

Pyrenula ochraceoflava (Nyl.) R.C.Harris JF 04

Pyrenula oculata Ajay Singh & Upreti WL 76

Pyrenula platystoma (Mull. Arg.) Aptroot AD 29

Pyrenula pyrenuloides (Mont.) R.C.Harris Hg25

Pyrenula ravenelii (Tuck.) R.C.Harris Hg 59

Pyrenula subglabrata (Nyl.) Mull. Arg. Ka 23 New record for Indian subcontinent

Pyrenula thailandica Aptroot WL 52, WL 52A New record for Indian subcontinent

Pyrgidium montellicum (Beltr.) Tibell Mn 65 **

Ramalina angulosa Laurer WL 74

Ramalina subpusilla (Nyl.) Zahlbr., Ne 295

Rostania callibotrys (Tuck.) Otalora, P.M.Jørg. & Wedin Ho 210

Sculptolumina serotina (Malme) Marbach Hg 49 New record for the Palaeotropics

Stirtonia viridis L.I. Ferraro, Sipman & M.Caceres WL 66 New record for the Palaeotropics

Thelenella marginata (Groenh.) Mayrhofer Ne 123A p.p. New record for Indian subcontinent

Trapelia placodioides Coppins & P.James Ne 200

Trapeliopsis granulosa (Hoffm.) Lumbsch Ne 155A New record for Indian subcontinent


(Arthoniaceae), with three new Stirtonia species and one new

Crypthonia from the Neotropics. Lichenologist 46: 673–679.Bandaratillake, H. M. 2003. Community participation in the

management of the Kanneliya- Dediyagala-Nakiyadeniya pro-posed biosphere reserve. Journal of National Science Foundation

of Sri Lanka 31: 139–145.Breuss, O. & R. Lucking. 2015. Three new lichen species from

Nicaragua, with keys to the known species of Eugeniella andMalmidea. Lichenologist 47: 9–20.

Caceres, M. E. S., M. W. O. Santos, C. O. Mendonca, D. A. Mota &A. Aptroot. 2013. New lichen species of the genera Porina and

Byssoloma from an urban Atlantic rainforest patch in Sergipe, NEBrazil. Lichenologist 45: 379–382.

Cooray, P. G. 1984. An introduction to the geology of Sri Lanka.

Department of Geology, Government Printing Press, Colombo,Sri Lanka.

Grube, M., M. Matzer & J. Hafellner. 1995. A preliminary account ofthe lichenicolous Arthonia species with reddish, Kþ reactive

pigments. Lichenologist 27: 25–42.Jayalal, U., P. A. Wolseley, C. Gueidan, A. Aptroot, S. Wijesundara & V.

Karunaratne. 2012. Anzia mahaeliyensis and Anzia flavotenuis, twonew lichen species from Sri Lanka. Lichenologist 44: 381–389.

Jayasinghe, H. D. 2015. Common butterflies of Sri Lanka. CeylonTea Services, Colombo.

Jeyaruba, T & M. Thushyanthy. 2009. The effect of agriculture onquality of groundwater: A case study. Middle-East Journal of

Scientific Research 4: 110–114.Joshi, S., D. K. Upreti & S. Nayaka. 2012. Two new species in the

lichen genus Phlyctis (Phlyctidaceae) from India. Lichenologist44: 363–369.

Kalb, K., E. Rivas Plata, R. Lucking & H. T. Lumbsch. 2011. Thephylogenetic position of Malmidea, a new genus for the Lecidea

piperis- and Lecanora granifera-groups (Lecanorales, Malmidea-ceae) inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial ribosomal DNA

sequences with special reference to Thai species. BibliothecaLichenologica 106: 143–168.

Kashiwadani, H., A. Aptroot & K. H. Moon. 2009. Pyrenocarpouslichens of Japan, with the resurrection of the genus Trypethe-

liopsis. Bibliotheca Lichenologica 99: 247–258.Kotagama, S. 2006. Significant birding sites in Sri Lanka. Common,

endemic and threatened birds in Sri Lanka. Field OrnithologyGroup of Sri Lanka, Colombo.

Lucking, R. 2008. Foliicolous lichenized fungi. Flora Neotropica 103:1–866.

Lucking, R., O. Breuss, M. P. Nelsen, E. Navarro, A. Aptroot, J. L.Chaves, M. Trest & S. Will-Wolf. 2013. Porina squamulifera

(lichenized Ascomycota: Porinaceae), a new species from tropical

rainforest in Costa Rica with unique thallus morphology.Herzogia 26: 223–230.

Lucking, R., M. K. Johnston, A. Aptroot, E. Kraichak, J. C.Lendemer, K. Boonpragob, M. E. S. Caceres, D. Ertz, L. I.

Ferraro, Z.-F. Jia, K. Kalb, A. Mangold, L. Manoch, J. A.Mercado-Dıaz, B. Moncada, P. Mongkolsuk, K. Papong, S.

Parnmen, R. Pelaez, V. Poengsoengnoen, E. Rivas Plata, W.Saipunkaew, H. J. M. Sipman, J. Suttjaritturakan, D. Van den

Broeck, M. von Konrat, G. Weerakoon & H. T. Lumbsch. 2014.One hundred and seventy five new species of Graphidaceae:

closing the gap or a drop in the bucket? Phytotaxa 189: 7–38.Orange, A., P. W. James & F. J. White. 2001. Microchemical Methods

for the Identification of Lichens. British Lichen Society, London.

Pathirana, H. D. N. C. 1980. Geology of Sri Lanka in relation to

Plate Tectonics. Lanka National Science Foundation Science

Council 8: 75–85.

Puvaneswaran, K. M. & P. A. Smithson. 1993. An objective

classification of homogeneous rainfall regimes in Sri Lanka.

Theoretical and Applied Climatology 48: 133–145.

Ricci, R. 2011. Literature, conversion and the Arabic cosmopolis of

South and Southeast Asia. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Seavey, F. & J. Seavey. 2014. New additions to the lichen genus

Enterographa (Roccellaceae) from Everglades National Park

including an updated world key. Lichenologist 46: 83–93.

Seavey, F. & J. Seavey. 2015. Three new Stirtonia from Everglades

National Park with a key to neotropical species. Lichenologist 47:

1–7.

Silva, M. A. T. de. 2014. Sri Lanka’s forests. Sri Lanka Association

for the Advancement of Science, Colombo.

Sparrius, L. B. 2004. A monograph of Enterographa and Sclerophy-

ton. Bibliotheca Lichenologica 89: 1–141.

The National Red List. 2012. Conservation Status of the Fauna and

Flora. Ministry of Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Vlas, J. de & J. de Vlas. 2008. Illustrated field guide to the flowers of

Sri Lanka. Mark booksellers and distributors, Kandy.

Weerakoon, G. 2013. Some environmental factors influencing

diversity of corticolous lichens in selected disturbed and

undisturbed vegetation types in Knuckles Mountain range in

Sri Lanka. PhD thesis, University of Sri Jayawardenapura, Sri

Lanka.

Weerakoon, G. 2015. Fascinating Lichens of Sri Lanka. Dilmah

Conservation, Colombo.

Weerakoon, G. & A. Aptroot. 2013. Some new lichen species from

Sri Lanka, with a key to the genus Heterodermia in Sri Lanka.

Cryptogamie, Mycologie 34: 321–328.

Weerakoon, G. & A. Aptroot. 2014. Over 200 new lichen records

from Sri Lanka, with three new species to science. Cryptogamie,

Mycologie 35: 51–62.

Weerakoon, A. Aptroot, H. T. Lumbsch, P. A. Wolseley, S. C.

Wijeyaratne & C. Gueidan. 2012a. New molecular data on

Pyrenulaceae from Sri Lanka reveal two well-supported groups

within this family. Lichenologist 44: 639–647.

Weerakoon, G., E. Rivas Plata, H. T. Lumbsch & R. Lucking. 2012b.

Three new species of Chapsa (lichenized Ascomycota: Ostro-

pales: Graphidaceae) from tropical Asia. Lichenologist 44: 373–

379.

Weerakoon, G., S. C. Wijeyaratne, P. A. Wolseley, E. Rivas Plata, R.

Lucking & H. T. Lumbsch. 2012c. Six new species of Graph-

idaceae from Sri Lanka. The Bryologist 115: 74–83.

Weerakoon, G., U. Jayalal, S. Wijesundara, V. Karunaratne & R.

Lucking. 2015. Six new Graphidaceae (lichenized Ascomycota:

Ostropales) from Horton Plains National Park, Sri Lanka. Nova

Hedwigia 101: 77–88.

Weerakoon G., R. Lucking & H. T. Lumbsch. 2014. Thirteen new

species of Graphidaceae (lichenized Ascomycota: Ostropales)

from Sri Lanka. Phytotaxa 189: 331–347.

Wickramasinghe, L. J. M. 2014. Recognising deadly venomous

snakes from harmless snakes of Sri Lanka. Ceylon Tea Services,

Colombo.

manuscript received November 30, 2015; accepted February 15, 2016.


eight new lichen species and 88 new records from sri lanka · lanka. this hilly virgin rainforest,...

Documents