Spinomyces
Spinomyces is a genus of fungi in the family Gomphillaceae. It has six species of leaf-dwelling lichens.
Taxonomy
The genus name Spinomyces has a complex taxonomic history. In 1961, the mycologists Augusto Chaves Batista and Generosa Emília Pontual Peres first proposed the name Spinomyces, using a specimen they called S. genipae. However, when scientists later examined this original specimen, they discovered it was actually a mixture of two different lichens – one that appeared to be Tricharia albostrigosa and another species of Echinoplaca. Because Batista and Peres published the name without providing a formal scientific description as required by naming rules, Spinomyces was not considered a valid genus name at that time.In 2023, when the lichenologists Amanda Xavier-Leite, Marcela Cáceres, and Robert Lücking needed a name for a newly recognised group of lichens centred around what was then called Aderkomyces albostrigosus, they decided to resurrect and formally validate the name Spinomyces. Rather than basing it on the mixed-up Echinoplaca specimen as had been previously suggested by some researchers in 1998, they chose to establish the genus with Tricharia albostrigosa as its type species.
Description
These lichens form a continuous, smooth layer on leaf surfaces, characterised by distinctive white bristles. Their reproductive structures sit directly on the surface and typically range in colour from yellowish to reddish-brown. Under the microscope, these structures usually produce single spores that are divided into multiple compartments both lengthwise and crosswise.A characteristic feature of the genus is its specialised reproductive structures, which are white bristles that often widen at their tips. These structures produce chains of spindle-shaped cells at their tips.
Species
Spinomyces aggregatus Spinomyces albostrigosus Spinomyces deslooveri Spinomyces guatemalensis Spinomyces microcarpus- ''Spinomyces verrucosus''