Gyalideopsis ellipsoidea
Gyalideopsis ellipsoidea is a species of corticolous crustose lichen in the family Gomphillaceae. It occurs in northeastern Brazil, where it grows on the smooth bark of trees in Caatinga forest ecosystems.
Taxonomy
Gyalideopsis ellipsoidea was first described in 2013 by Aline Anjos Menezes, Marcela Cáceres, and André Aptroot from specimens collected by Menezes in the Chapada do Araripe region of northeastern Brazil.Description
Gyalideopsis ellipsoidea is a crustose lichen, meaning it grows as a thin crust closely adhering to its substrate. It features a shiny grey thallus that is very thin and follows the contours of the bark surface. The thallus is surrounded by a narrow black line. The reproductive structures are superficial, appearing on the surface rather than embedded in the thallus. These structures range from round to elongated, measuring 0.2–0.4 mm wide and 0.2–0.6 mm long. They have a concave dark grey that is not . The margin around the disc is raised, sometimes curving inward, and pale grey, approximately 0.1 mm wide.Under microscopic examination, G. ellipsoidea has distinctive features including:
- A black that extends between the and the
- Lax paraphyses that are mostly unbranched with gnarled, brown tips
- Cylindrical-clavate asci containing eight each
- Hyaline, broadly to somewhat ascospores with 3 septa, measuring 11–13 by 5.5–6.5 μm
It differs from similar species like Gyalideopsis philippiae by its dark grey disc, black hypothecium, and ascospores with three septa. While many Gyalideopsis species have richly paraphyses, G. ellipsoidea has mostly unbranched paraphyses, which appear to correlate with its numerous asci.