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Krogia antillarum (Ramalinaceae), a new lichen species from theWest IndiesAuthor(s) :Einar TimdalSource: The Bryologist, 112(2):387-389. 2009.Published By: The American Bryological and Lichenological Society, Inc.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1639/0007-2745-112.2.387URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1639/0007-2745-112.2.387

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Krogia antillarum (Ramalinaceae), a new lichen species from the

West Indies

EINAR TIMDAL

Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172 Blindern, N-0318

Oslo, Norway

e-mail: einar.timdal@nhm.uio.no

ABSTRACT. A second species of Krogia is described from six localities in the West Indies

(Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago). It differs from K.

coralloides mainly in the shape of the squamules and in the presence of 4-O-

methylcryptochlorophaeic acid. Eschatogonia minuta, intermingled in one collection, is

new to the West Indies (Trinidad).

KEYWORDS. Dominican Republic, Eschatogonia, Haiti, Jamaica, Krogia, lichenized

ascomycetes, Phyllopsora, Ramalinaceae, Trinidad and Tobago, tropical rain forest, West

Indies.

¤ ¤ ¤

During revision of ca. 150 undetermined collections

of Phyllopsora in MSC made by Dr. Henry A. Imshaug

and colleagues in the West Indies in the 1950s and

1960s (Timdal in prep.), I came upon five collections

of an undescribed species of the morphologically

similar genus Krogia. A recent, sterile, undetermined

collection made by the author in Tobago was also

found to belong to this species. The single previously

known species of Krogia, K. coralloides Timdal, was

described from one locality in Mauritius (Timdal

2002) and, to my knowledge, no other localities have

later been reported for it. Krogia differs from the

common pantropical genus Phyllopsora mainly in

having a nearly non-amyloid ascus and filiform,

curved, spirally arranged ascospores (Timdal 2002).

In Phyllopsora, the ascus contains an amyloid tholus

with a deeper amyloid, more or less conical area

bordering the ocular chamber and the axial mass

(Bacidia-type) (Brako 1991; Swinscow & Krog 1981;

Timdal & Krog 2001) and the ascospores are

ellipsoid to acicular, never spirally arranged (Timdal

2008b).

METHODS

Microscope sections were cut on a freezing

microtome and mounted in water, 10% KOH (K),

lactophenol cotton blue and a modified Lugol’s

solution in which water was replaced by 50% lactic

acid. Amyloid reactions were observed in the

modified Lugol’s solution after pretreatment in K

(K/I reaction). Polarized light was used to locate

crystals of secondary metabolites. Thin-layer

chromatography was performed in accordance with

the methods of Culberson (1972), modified by

Menlove (1974) and Culberson and Johnson (1982).

4-O-methylcryptochlorophaeic acid was identified by

comparison with material of Cladonia

merochlorophaea var. merochlorophaea. Spore

measurements are given as X 6 1.53s, where X is

the arithmetic mean and s the standard deviation.

Krogia antillarum Timdal, sp. nov. Fig. 1

Krogiae coralloidis affinis, sed squamis latioribus,

plus minusve planis et thallo acidum

4-O-methylcryptochlorophaeicum continens.

The Bryologist 112(2), pp. 387–389 0007-2745/09/$0.45/0Copyright E2009 by The American Bryological and Lichenological Society, Inc.

TYPE: JAMAICA. PARISH OF PORTLAND: North slope below

Corn Puss Gap, alt. 1850 ft, montane rain forest,

14 Feb 1953, H. A. Imshaug 14552 (MSC 25545,

holotype).

Description. Thallus squamulose, effuse.

Squamules to 1.5 mm wide, deeply and irregularly

divided into 0.2–0.4 wide lobes, ascending, often

imbricate, flattened, sometimes with a up-turned tip,

grayish green, with patches of red (K+ purple) spots,

epruinose, glabrous to finely fibrillose; margin paler

than upper side, often finely fibrillose; lower side pale

brown to white; soredia and isidia absent; upper

cortex of thick-walled, irregularly oriented hyphae

with narrowly cylindrical lumina, 20–30 mm thick,

lacking an epinecral layer, not containing crystals

(polarized light); photobiont layer 30–40 mm thick,

filled with crystals dissolving in K; medulla of loosely

interwoven hyphae, upper part with crystals

dissolving in K; lower cortex lacking; prothallus

indistinct or lacking. Apothecia biatorine, attached

laminally to the squamules, to 1 mm diam. when

simple, often forming aggregates to 3 mm diam.,

medium brown with red patches or entirely reddish

brown, weakly to moderately convex, with an

indistinct, concolorous or slightly paler, often

flexuose margin; proper exciple pale brown to

colorless, of radiating, closely conglutinated, thick-

walled hyphae with cylindrical lumina, inner part

with crystals dissolving in K; hypothecium pale

brown, of closely conglutinated, thick-walled hyphae

with angular to cylindrical lumina, with crystals

dissolving in K; hymenium colorless or patchily

reddish brown (K+ purple); epithecium pale brown,

not containing crystals; paraphyses simple or

sparingly branched, moderately conglutinated, rather

thin-walled; apical cell not or only slightly swollen,

colorless; ascus clavate, surrounded by a thin amyloid

sheet; tholus well developed, not amyloid or with a

faintly amyloid central tube, with a well-developed

ocular chamber when young; ascospores 8/ascus,

colorless, thin-walled, filiform, curved, spirally

arranged, simple, 22–32 3 c. 1.0 mm (n550).

Chemistry. 4-O-methylcryptochlorophaeic acid

(major) found by TLC, unidentified red pigment

occurring scattered in thallus and apothecium;

thallus PD–, K– (red spots K+ purple), C–, KC–,

UV–.

Habitat and distribution. Krogia antillarum is

known from six localities in the West Indies

(Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad

and Tobago). The altitude is indicated in five

Figure 1. Krogia antillarum. A. Part of holotype. B. Part of MSC 25591. C. Ascus in K/I, holotype. Scale bars: A, B 5 2 mm; C 5

10 mm.

388 THE BRYOLOGIST 112(2): 2009

collections and ranges from 500–550 m to 5800 ft

(1770 m). All specimens were corticolous and

collected either in ‘‘forested area’’ (1), ‘‘montane

thicket’’ (2), ‘‘rain forest’’ (1) or ‘‘montane rain

forest’’ (2). In two collections (MSC 25553, 25570),

undetermined Phyllopsora species are intermingled

and in one collection (Trinidad, MSC 25591),

Eschatogonia minuta Timdal & R. Sant. occurs

(new to the West Indies; cf. Timdal 2008a).

Discussion. The new species differs from Krogia

coralloides mainly in forming more broad-lobed,

more flattened, partly up-turned squamules

containing 4-O-methylcryptochlorophaeic acid. In

K. coralloides, which contains boninic acid, the

squamules are more convex, more narrowly

divided (lobes ca. 0.1 mm wide), and often slightly

down-turned at the tip (Timdal 2002). In K.

coralloides, the tissue below the algal layer is

conglutinated and was denoted a lower cortex by

Timdal (2002); in K. antillarum the hyphae are

loosely interwoven and the tissue is clearly a

medulla. In K. antillarum, the upper side and margin

of the squamules are often finely fibrillous; in

K. coralloides they are glabrous. In K. antillarum,

the upper cortex is formed by hyphae having

narrowly cylindrical lumina and resembles

Phyllopsora cortex type 1 of Swinscow and Krog

(1981), whereas the upper cortex of K. coralloides

is formed by hyphae having more shortly

cylindrical to angular lumina, resembling

Phyllopsora type 1–2.

The red spots (K+ purple) in the thallus and

apothecium are formed by a pigment occurring

mainly intracellularly. It is difficult to extract in

acetone and was not located on the chromatograms.

The pigment occurs both inside the lumina of the

hyphae in the upper cortex and inside algal cells.

Surrounding bryophytes may also patchily stain

red near contact points with the lichen, apparently

due to the pigment leaching from the lichen

(observed especially well in the holotype). In the

bryophytes the pigment is seen mainly in the

chloroplasts. A similar red, K+ purple pigment also

occurs patchily in the thallus of K. coralloides

(Timdal 2002).

Additional specimens seen. JAMAICA. PARISH OF ST.

THOMAS: S slope of Mossmans Peak, Blue Mountains,

5000 ft, montane thicket, 1953, Imshaug 14671 (MSC

25553). HAITI. DEPT. DE L’OUEST: Ridge N of Foret des

Pins (SHADA station) near border of Dominican

Republic, 5800 ft, montane thicket, 1958, Imshaug &

Wetmore 2945 (MSC 25570, NY). DOMINICAN REPUBLIC:

Cordillera Central (Maciso Central: Maciso de los

Yaques), on ridge of La Cotorra, 5800 ft, montane

rain forest, 1958, Imshaug 23643 & Wetmore (MSC

25556). TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO. TOBAGO: Parish of St.

John, along Roxborough-Parlatuvier Road,

11u6.799N, 60u37.439W (WGS84), 500–550 m, on

tree trunk in rain forest, 2008, Rui & Timdal 10841

(O-L152138); TRINIDAD: Northern Range, S side of

Morne Bleu Pass on ‘‘Arima–Blanchisseuse Road,’’

forested area, 1963, Imshaug 32324 & Imshaug (MSC

25591, NY).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am grateful to Dr. Alan M. Fryday (MSC) for arranging the

loan of Henry A. Imshaug’s West Indian Phyllopsora collection.

LITERATURE CITED

Brako, L. 1991. Phyllopsora (Bacidiaceae). Flora Neotropica

Monograph 55: 1–66.

Culberson, C. F. 1972. Improved conditions and new data for

the identification of lichen products by a standardized thin-

layer chromatographic method. Journal of

Chromatography 72: 113–125.

——— & Johnson, A. 1982. Substitution of methyl tert.-butyl

ether for diethyl ether in standardized thin-layer

chromatographic method for lichen products. Journal of

Chromatography 238: 438–487.

Menlove, J. E. 1974. Thin-layer chromatography for the

identification of lichen substances. British Lichen Society

Bulletin 34: 3–5.

Swinscow, T. D. V. & H. Krog. 1981. The genus Phyllopsora,

with a report on the East African species. Lichenologist 12:

203–247.

Timdal, E. 2002. Krogia coralloides, a new lichen genus and

species from Mauritius. Lichenologist 34: 293–296.

———. 2008a. Studies on Eschatogonia (Ramalinaceae) in

Peru. Lichenologist 40: 31–38.

———. 2008b. Studies on Phyllopsora (Ramalinaceae) in Peru.

Lichenologist 40: 337–362.

——— & H. Krog. 2001. Further studies on African species of

the lichen genus Phyllopsora (Lecanorales). Mycotaxon 77:

57–89.

ms. received June 9, 2008; accepted October 29, 2008.

Timdal: West Indian Krogia 389