Fellhanera scottii sp. nov. (Pilocarpaceae), a new corticolous lichen from Bermuda

Franz Berger

doi:10.35535/pfsyst-2021-0020

Abstract

Fellhanera scottii is described as a new corticolous lichen from Bermuda. This new species is characterized by its aeruginose excipulum and curious substrate, growing on stilt roots of Rhizophora mangle.

Highlights

The genus Fellhanera comprises at least 113 species of discocarpous lichens in the Pilocarpaceae
Diagnosis: The main difference between Fellhanera scottii and the most similar species F. azorica is the apothecia, which in the new species are larger, round or slightly lobate, possess a brown hypothecium and an olive tinged blue inner excipulum, and produce longer ascospores [(12–)13–16(–18) × 3–3.5 μm]. This new lichen species grows on the bark of stilt roots of Rhizophora mangle
Using the publications of Sérusiaux and Lücking (q.v.), F. scottii keys to foliicolous is always colored significantly blue with a slight olive tinge, while it is hyaline in F. rhapidophylli (if aeruginous color is observed, it is only present in the marginal exciple (Santesson 1952)

Summary

Introduction

The genus Fellhanera comprises at least 113 species of discocarpous lichens in the Pilocarpaceae (http://www. indexfungorum.org/names/Names.asp, last consultation 31.7.2021). The genus Fellhanera comprises at least 113 species of discocarpous lichens in the Pilocarpaceae These lichens mostly occur in tropical and subtropical latitudes, where they are mostly found growing on evergreen leaves. Bermuda is a group of ~130 islands (the ‘Bermuda Archipelago’) at 32°20′N and 64°45′W, covers ~53.5 km and is situated 960 km offshore from the nearest landmass, North Carolina, USA. Unlike North Carolina, Bermuda is dominated by a subtropical biota due to the effects of the passing Gulf Stream combined with the ‘Bermuda High’, a semi-permanent area of high atmospheric pressure (Thomas 2004). The new species was encountered in Paget Marsh Nature Reserve (Paget Parish), one of Bermuda’s last remaining undisturbed natural areas, a protected RAMSAR wetland. 75 species of lichens (Berger and LaGreca, unpublished data), Paget Marsh is one of the hot spots of diversity in the archipelago, which contains 208 total lichen species (LaGreca & Berger 2021)

Material and methods

Berger

Discussion