Ducatina umbilicata gen. et sp. nov., a remarkable Trapeliaceae from the subantarctic islands in the Indian Ocean

Abstract

AbstractThe new genus and species Ducatina umbilicata is described from Îles Crozet and Îles Kerguelen. This lichen is characterized by an umbilicate thallus with a black verrucose lower surface and a greyish to dark olivaceous smooth upper surface having large verrucae, large semi-immersed cephalodia, semi-immersed apothecia with a prominent thalline margin, simple, mainly ellipsoid ascospores of 23–42×12–25 µm and the presence of unknown chemical compounds. Phylogenetic analyses using nuLSU and mtSSU sequences place Ducatina in the Trapeliaceae (Baeomycetales). The new taxon is closely related to Orceolina antarctica and O. kerguelensis, two other lichens endemic to these subantarctic islands, differing by its morphology and the lack of chemical compounds. Ducatina is the only genus in the Trapeliaceae to develop a large umbilicate thallus.