Nimisia fuegiae Kärnefelt & A. Thell

Data Set Maintenance: Data set standard item. Data set author(s): Thell A. Data set not revised; to be published after submission.

Nomenclature: Current taxonomic status: accepted. Taxonomic rank: species. Currently accepted name Nimisia fuegiae Kärnefelt & A. Thell. Nimisia. Parmeliaceae Zenker (1827); Lecanorales.

Type Information: Basionym: Nimisia fuegiae Kärnefelt & A. Thell. Type: Nimisia fuegiae Kärnefelt & A. Thell; protologue: Thallus eo Cetraria merrillii vel Arctocetraria nigricascens similis sed structura singulari generis differt. Apothecia margine thallino et excipulo cupulari, asci cylindrici ad subclavati, tholus corpore axiali margno. Ascosporae ellipsoidae hyalinae. Conidia oblonga citriformia. Metaboliiti secundarii non indicati.; type specimen label data: Argentina, Isla Grande Tierra del Fuego, Dept. Ushuaia, Sierra Alvear, just in front of Hosteria Tierra Major, on steeply inclined faces of granitic rocks in the subalpine belts, 1987, Nimis (TSB 11.131) (LD-holotypus; TSB-isotypus).

Taxonomic Literature: Kärnefelt, I. & Thell, A. 1993: Nimisia fuegiae (Parmeliaceae), a new lichen genus and species from Argentina. Lichenologist 25(4): 369-377.

Biogeography: Subantarctic; alpine. Continent: Southern America.

Ecology: Biotroph; lichenized; saxicolous.

Thallus: Foliose, subdivided into main parts, without secondary parts, irregular, continuous throughout, lobed; lobes linear, ascending; concave; erect; branches unifacial; not segmented; separate thallus parts.5-1 mm wide. Secondary Thallus: Trunk with intact wall, black, concolorous the branches. Thallus Size and Differentiation: 1-2 cm long; apex irregular; rounded. Thallus Outline: Irregular. Upper Surface: Black, subconcave, glossy (shiny), smooth; not fissurate; foveate; not convoluted; immaculate; without patches; epruinose; not pseudocyphellate; wrinkled; eciliate; without hairs; not isidate; without isidiomorphs; not papillate, not pustulate; not sorediate; not tuberculate; not lobulate. Lower Surface: Present, black, black in the centre, black along the margin; attached by holdfasts; not cyphellate; wrinkled, wrinkles central or peripheral, reticulate, not predominantely oriented; not rhizinate; not tuberculate.

Hydrochasic Thallus Movement: Not performing hygrochasic thallus movement.

Upper Cortex: 10-30 % of thallus width; double-layered; epicortex non-porous (i.e., forming a syncortex). Photobiont Layer: Photobiont cells clustered, hyphal cells large, similar in size to medullar hyphae. Medulla: Single-layered, 70-90 % of branch width, compact; hyphae predominantly along the lobe axis, not widened at the septum.

Reproduction Strategy: With sexual (and possible asexual) stages. Ascocarps: Apothecioid, forming close to the margin, not the thallus centre, all across the surface, independently from the host thallus or mycelium, moderately abundant, up to 1.5 mm in diam.. Margin: Smooth, epruinose; not sorediate; not isidiate; without pseudocyphellae pseudocyphellae; not ciliate; not hirsute. Disk: Black. Epithecium: Apical cells slightly swollen. Hymenium: 40-60 µm high. Interascal Hyphae: Distinctly branched, not or scarcely anastomosed.

Asci: Broadly clavate; with distinct flanks; ocular chamber present; broad; dehiscence lecanoralean; dehiscent by rostrum-type dehiscence.

Ascospores: Not uniseriate, c. 8 per ascus, spores 8-8 per ascus, ellipsoid, 8-9 µm long, 5 µm wide; wall thin, not ornamented.

Conidiomata: Present; immersed; formed lateral (along the margin of thallus parts), all accross the thallus surface, close to the thallus periphery, or along the thallus periphery; supporting structure: absent.

Pycnidia: Wall black. Conidiogeneous Cells: Apical. Conidia: Fusiform; 8-10 µm long; 1.5 µm wide.

Secondary Metabolites: Not detected; metabolite(s) of unresolved identity: absent.

Spot Tests: Cortex: KC – medulla: K –, C –, KC –, PD –.

(report generated 04.Okt.2007)