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An annotated checklist of the lichens of Hong Kong, based on all available literature reports and specimens, including those recently collected by the authors, is presented. In total, 261 species are reported, of which 176 are new records for Hong Kong, 132 of which are new for China, 43 are new for East Asia, and 27 are new for Asia. The lichen vegetation is mainly tropical, as is shown by the distribution patterns of the identified species: 53 species are cosmopolitan, 40 northern temperate, 122 pantropical, 17 paleotropical and 29 endemic to tropical East Asia. With regard to substrata, 129 species are corticolous, 148 saxicolous, 17 foliicolous and 19 terricolous. Four species are newly described: Anisomeridium conorostratum Aptroot, A. hydei Aptroot, Caloplaca pulicarioides Aptroot and Placidiopsis poronioides Aptroot. The flora is rather poor in species; for example, no Caliciales have been found. In the past, the numbers of species of several groups such as the Graphidaceae, Heterodermia and Xanthoparmelia have been overestimated, whereas few pyrenocarps have been reported. The flora of wet granitic outcrops is surprisingly well developed in Hong Kong. Although not a single Peltula species was reported before, six species were identified, including one that was previously only known from Africa. In addition, several other cyanophilic genera are present, such as Euopsis, Psorotichia, Pyrenopsis and, most unexpectedly, Vestergrenopsis, each with one species. A comparison between old and recent records shows that many Lobarion species are now extinct. The drastic decline of species of the Lobarion vegetation indicates that air pollution and other habitat disturbances, mainly deforestation, to which these species are very sensitive, are seriously threatening the lichen biodiversity of Hong Kong.
Book Reviews
(1999)
M. P. Marcelli & T. Ahti (eds.) 1998. Recollecting Edvard August Vainio. CETESB, Sao Paulo, 188 pp (A5). Price US$ 30.00 + postage US$ 14.00 = US$ 44.00.
M. P. Marcelli & M. R. D. Seaward (eds.) 1998. Lichenology in Latin America - history, current knowledge and application. CETESB, Sao Paulo, 179 pp (A4). Price US$ 40.00 + postage US$ 14.00 = US$ 54.00.
Aldabra Atoll, in the Republic of Seychelles, lies 450 km to the north of Madagascar and 650 km to the east of the Tanzanian coast of Africa (9o24’S, 46o20’E). It is one of the largest atolls in the world, with four main islands and numerous islets, totalling 97 km2. The underlying limestone is slightly raised, but is generally less than 8 m in elevation, and varies substantially in texture due to erosion. The atoll has been elevated above sea level for at least 80,000 years. Soils are generally shallow and alkaline (Trudgill 1979). The geology and ecology are outlined in Westoll and Stoddart (1971), Stoddart and Westoll (1979), and Stoddart (1984).
Species recognition in lichen-forming fungi has been a challenge because of unsettled species concepts, few taxonomically relevant traits, and limitations of traditionally used morphological and chemical characters for identifying closely related species. Here we analyze species diversity in the cosmopolitan genus Protoparmelia s.l. The ~25 described species in this group occur across diverse habitats from the boreal -arctic/alpine to the tropics, but their relationship to each other remains unexplored. In this study, we inferred the phylogeny of 18 species currently assigned to this genus based on 160 specimens and six markers: mtSSU, nuLSU, ITS, RPB1, MCM7, and TSR1. We assessed the circumscription of species-level lineages in Protoparmelia s. str. using two coalescent-based species delimitation methods – BP&P and spedeSTEM. Our results suggest the presence of a tropical and an extra-tropical lineage, and eleven previously unrecognized distinct species-level lineages in Protoparmelia s. str. Several cryptic lineages were discovered as compared to phenotype-based species delimitation. Many of the putative species are supported by geographic evidence.
Four new Astrothelium species and a Mazaediothecium from Várzea areas in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
(2020)
Five species of lichens are described as new from Várzea areas in Mato Grosso do Sul (Brazil): Astrothelium fernandae, A. pseudodermatodes, A. septoconicum, A. xanthopseudocyphellatum, and Mazaediothecium serendipiticum, the latter being deviating from all other species in its order by the at least morphologically chlorococcoid photobiont. Further, we found 226 identifiable species in the Várzea reserve near Jateí and 47 on a farm near Naviraí. Of these, 15 are new records for Brazil and a further 88 are first reports from the state.
Fascicle XVI of the exsiccate "K. KALB & A. APTROOT: LICHENES NEOTROPICI" (new name for "K. KALB: LICHENES NEOTROPIC" from fascicle XVI onwards) with 23 lichen specimens (No. 628–650) from Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Kenya, Peru and Venezuela is distributed. Three species are described as new, namely Lopadium subcoralloideum Aptroot & Kalb, Lecanactis caceresiana Kalb & Aptroot and Rhizocarpon sipmanianum Kalb & Aptroot. The holotypes of the new species are deposited at Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS). Range extensions are reported for Hypocenomyce tinderreyensis (new to the Neo-tropics; so far only known from Australia, but apparently austral), Ocellularia baorucensis (new to Brazil), Physcidia striata (recently described from Rondônia and the Venezuelean Amazon, and subsequently reported from Amapá and Brazilian Amazonas. The collection from Brazil/Mato Grosso do Sul represents a major range extension to the South), Tephromela campestricola (new to the Neotropics; not different in any way from European material) and Xanthoparmelia arvidssonii (new to Venezuela).
Nine species of Graphidaceae are described as new to science from South and Central Brazil, in 7 different genera: Acanthothecis normuralis, A. psoromica, Acanthotrema minus, Aggregatorygma submuriforme, Allographa medioinspersa, Diorygma isidiolichexanthonicum, Fissurina excavatisorediosa, Graphis norsorediata, and Graphis tricolor.
Based on recent records, 89 lichen species are reported as new to Brazil. For the genera Ancistrosporella, Jamesiella, Lambiella, Paulia, Polyblastia, Porocyphus, and Trimmatothele, it is the first time they are reported from Brazil. Many more, in total 523 species, are newly reported from individual states.
Six species of lichens are described as new from Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil): Astrothelium aureoirregulare Aptroot & Gumboski, Bogoriella xantholateralis Aptroot, Lecanora umbilicatimmersa Aptroot & Spielmann, Lepra lichexanthonorstictica Aptroot, Megalaria flavosorediata Aptroot and Vainionora sorediata Aptroot. Moreover, 28 further species are reported which are first records for Brazil; and a further 166 are first records for Santa Catarina and 104 for Rio Grande do Sul.
Eleven species of lichens are described as new from the Serra do Bodoquena in Mato Grosso do Sul (Brazil): Alyxoria cyanea, Astrothelium ochraceum, Chiodecton xanthonosorediatum, Gyalecta perithecioidea, Gyalecta uniseptata, Pyrenula rubroacutispora, Ramonia xylophila, Synarthonia xanthosarcographoides, Trypethelium aureornatum, Trypethelium endoflavum, and Trypethelium xanthostiolornatum. Around 400 further species are reported, of which 27 are first records for Brazil and 265 are first records for the state.
The Pantanal is a wetland biome in the interior of Brazil. It is known for its rich macrofauna. Botanically, it is relatively species poor, although the marshes have trees and shrubs throughout and there are occasional forested, even somewhat rocky hills. Lichens have received only scant attention so far, but the area is not very species rich (Canêz et al. 2020). We visited the Pantanal several times and collected in different areas. Here we describe four new species, one of which is locally the most common macrolichen, which was found on places elsewhere in the state and in the bordering state of Mato Grosso as well.
Several lichen species are reported from the first time from New Guinea, based on material collected by the author in 1995. The following new taxa are described: Crustospathula cartilaginea gen. et spec. nov., Pseudopyrenula serusiauxii spec. nov. and Trypethelium galligenum spec. nov. Psoroma papuana Aptroot & Diederich nom. nov. is proposed as new name for Psoroma pannarioides Aptroot & Diederich.
New lichens from Africa
(2021)
The following species are described as new to science, mostly based on specimens collected by the first author: Candelariella flavosorediata from Réunion, Chiodecton leprarioides from Réunion, Lecanactis leprarica from Cameroon, Multisporidea nitida, which is a new species and a new, monotypic genus in the Malmideaceae from Réunion, Neoprotoparmelia fuscosorediata from Kenya, Pyrrhospora endaurantia from Kenya, and Tapellaria isidiata from Cameroon.
Lichen exploration of the Upper Mazaruni District, Guyana yielded 273 species, of which 179 were found for the first time in the Guianas and 13 were as yet undescribed. A list of all taxa encountered is presented, with indications of habitat and distribution in the investigated area as well as first descriptions for the following 7 species: Buellia aptrootii, Byssoloma farkasii, Myriotrema guianense, M. neofrondosum, M. subdactyliferum, Ocellularia astrolucens, and Thelotrema albomaculatum. Mazosia bambusae is recorded for the first time from the Neotropics. The richest areas for lichens appear to be the rocky tablelands with scrub vegetation on top of the lower mountains. The slopes of Mount Roraima are of special interest because they support some montane species which are unlikely to be found elsewhere in the Guianas; otherwise they are less rich in lichens, probably because of the high humidity, which favours bryophyte growth.
The 1996 Chagos Expedition provided the first opportunity to study the archipelago’s lichen flora. Seventeen of the 55 islands were ecologically investigated, some in more detail than others, and lists and representative collections of lichens have been assembled for many of them. In all, 67 taxa have been recorded, 52 to specific level. Although the islands have a low biodiversity for cryptogamic plants, as would be expected in terms of their relatively young age, remoteness and small terrestrial surface areas, those taxa that are present are often found in abundance and play significant ecological roles. There is a good correlation between total lichen biodiversity and island size, despite the fact that Cocos nucifera is such an important substratum for cryptogamic plants and its presence on all islands studied provides a consistently high associated species count. Comparisons of lichen floras for ten island and coastal tropical areas show good correlations (based on the Sörensen Coefficient) within the Indian Ocean as would be expected, but poorer correlations exist within and between Pacific Ocean and neotropical floras. Ranked correlations between Chagos and other floras are in the sequence Maldives > Laing Island > Aldabra > Tuamotu > Pitcairn > N.Mariana & Belize > Guadeloupe > Cook. When coefficients are calculated using only the Physciaceae, different correlations and sequences are derived, but the affinities of the Indian Ocean islands remain strong. However, although the lichen flora of Chagos is characteristic for an Indian Ocean, it is dominated by pantropical species.
Between 1996 and 2006 the vegetation succession in drift sands and in blown-out gravel-rich depressions, located in the nature reserve Hulshorsterzand in the central Netherlands, was studied. Within this Natura 2000 habitat (type 2330: inland dunes with open Corynephorus and Agrostis grasslands) so-called lichen steppes are included, famous for their biodiversity, both in flora (cryptogams), and in fauna. With multivariate analysis, the relation between the primary succession, the species composition of the vegetation and the soil quality was studied in three different biotopes i.e. 1. drift sand, 2. blownout gravel-rich depressions and 3. drift sand after management. With a total of up to 34 species, lichen diversity in the study area appeared to be high. Biotope 1, i.e. the pioneer vegetation with Corynephorus canescens on blowing sand, is rather scarce in lichens. Between 1996 and 2006 green algae, C. canescens and Polytrichum piliferum appeared, with the result that much of the former open drift sand area was covered by pioneer stages of the Spergulo-Corynephoretum. If sand stopped blowing in, a combination of P. piliferum with the neophyte Campylopus introflexus occurred. The terminal stages of lichen succession on drift sand, a vegetation with mainly Festuca ovina s.l., Deschampsia flexuosa and reindeer lichens (Cladonia subgen. Cladina), proved to be rather stable. Since 1996 the lichen steppes occurring in biotope 2 were increasingly grass-encroached. Where some sand was still blowing in, lichen diversity did not change much, but gradually C. introflexus increased. However, without sand blowingin, a decreasing lichen cover and loss of some Red List lichens occurred. In general, in this grass-rich vegetation Calluna vulgaris will germinate and gradually a dry heath might develop. However, where dynamics had stopped and Pinus sylvestris seedlings established, succession to a young forest started. Vegetation change from open sand to lichen-rich vegetation is clearly related to a decrease in pH, an increase in organic matter, in % total N and in % total P. The lichen composition is clearly related to this gradient. The applied restoration measures on steep sand dunes in the eastern area, both of cutting pine trees and removing topsoil down to the mineral soil layer, proved to be successful. The sand kept drifting and the pioneer community thriving, including the lichen Stereocaulon condensatum characteristic of pioneer conditions, while the neophytic moss hardly increased between 1996 and 2006.