Megalospora


Megalospora is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Megalosporaceae.

Taxonomy

The genus was circumscribed in 1843 by Prussian botanist Franz Meyen, with Megalospora sulphurata assigned as the type, and at that time, only species. The genus was then largely defined on the basis of the structure of the apothecia.
In 2012, Gintaras Kantvilas and H. Thorsten Lumbsch synonymized the genus Austroblastenia with Megalospora, based on both morphology and molecular phylogeny.

Description

Megalospora is characterised by its large, bicellar ascospores. Other features include the crustose thallus, the lecideine apothecia, and the presence of oil droplets in the hymenium. The photobiont partner is a member of the green algal genus Dictyochloropsis. Megalospora species are usually distinguished based on the type of ascospore, thallus chemistry, and the presence or absence of reproductive propagules such as isidia and soralia.

Species

, Species Fungorum accepts 22 species of Megalospora.