ABSTRACT
Resumen Reportamos por primera vez para Colombia Epidendrum porphyreonocturnum Hágsater & R. Jiménez y Epidendrum whittenii Hágsater & Dodson, dos especies de orquídeas encontradas en el Piedemonte Andino-Amazónico del departamento de Caquetá. Estas especies eran previamente conocidas solo de Ecuador y Perú. Las dos especies fueron categorizadas como Vulnerables de acuerdo con los criterios de la IUCN debido a las amenazas sobre su hábitat y el bajo número de poblaciones conocidas. Estos reportes enriquecen el conocimiento de la orquideoflora colombiana y resaltan la necesidad de realizar mayores esfuerzos en pro del conocimiento y la conservación del piedemonte.
Abstract We report for the first time for Colombia Epidendrum porphyreonocturnum Hágsater & R. Jiménez and Epidendrum whittenii Hágsater & Dodson, two species of orchids found in the Andean-Amazonian Foothills from the department of Caquetá. These species were previously known in Ecuador and Peru. Both species were categorized as Vulnerable according to IUCN criteria due to the menaces over their habitat and the low number of known populations. These records enrich the knowledge of the Colombian orchid flower and highlight the need to make greater efforts for the knowledge and conservation of the foothill.
ABSTRACT
We present a taxonomic revision of the lichenized basidiomycete genus Acantholichen, species of which produce a characteristic blue-gray, microsquamulose thallus with spiny apical hyphal cells known as acanthohyphidia. Since its discovery, the genus was thought to be monospecific, only including the generic type, A. pannarioides. However, a detailed morphological and anatomical study of recently collected specimens from the Galápagos, Costa Rica, Brazil and Colombia, combined with a molecular phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) region and 28S of the nuc rDNA and RPB2 sequences, revealed a much more diverse and widespread species assemblage. Based on the results of these analyses, we describe five new species in the genus: A. albomarginatus, A. campestris, A. galapagoensis, A. sorediatus and A. variabilis. We also provide an identification key to all species, anatomical and morphological descriptions, photographs and a table comparing main characters of each species.
Subject(s)
Basidiomycota/classification , Genetic Variation , Lichens/classification , Base Sequence , Basidiomycota/cytology , Basidiomycota/genetics , Brazil , Colombia , Costa Rica , DNA, Fungal/chemistry , DNA, Fungal/genetics , DNA, Ribosomal Spacer/chemistry , DNA, Ribosomal Spacer/genetics , Fungal Proteins/genetics , Lichens/cytology , Lichens/genetics , Molecular Sequence Data , Phylogeny , Sequence Alignment , Sequence Analysis, DNAABSTRACT
The number of Fungi is estimated at between 1.5 and 3 million. Lichenized species are thought to make up a comparatively small portion of this figure, with unrecognized species richness hidden among little-studied, tropical microlichens. Recent findings, however, suggest that some macrolichens contain a large number of unrecognized taxa, increasing known species richness by an order of magnitude or more. Here we report the existence of at least 126 species in what until recently was believed to be a single taxon: the basidiolichen fungus Dictyonema glabratum, also known as Cora pavonia. Notably, these species are not cryptic but morphologically distinct. A predictive model suggests an even larger number, with more than 400 species. These results call into question species concepts in presumably well-known macrolichens and demonstrate the need for accurately documenting such species richness, given the importance of these lichens in endangered ecosystems such as paramos and the alarming potential for species losses throughout the tropics.
