New species of Sticta (lichenised Ascomycota, lobarioid Peltigeraceae) from Bolivia suggest a high level of endemism in the Central Andes

Abstract

Six species of Sticta are described as new to science on the basis of material from Bolivia and supported by phylogenetic analysis of the fungal ITS barcoding marker. The species were resolved in all three of the clades (I, II, III) widespread and common in the Neotropics, as defined in an earlier study on the genus. Comparison with material from neighbouring countries (i.e. Colombia, Ecuador, Peru) suggests that these new species may be potentially endemic to the Bolivian Yungas ecoregion. For each species, a detailed morphological and anatomical description is given. Sticta amboroensis Ossowska, Kukwa, B. Moncada & Lücking is a medium-sized green-algal species with laminal to submarginal apothecia with hirsute margins and with light to dark brown lower tomentum. Sticta aymara Ossowska, Kukwa, B. Moncada, Flakus, Rodriguez-Flakus & Lücking is a comparatively small cyanobacterial taxon with Nostoc as photobiont, laminal, richly branched, aggregate isidia and a golden to chocolate-brown lower tomentum. The medium-sized, cyanobacterial S. bicellulata Ossowska, Kukwa, B. Moncada & Lücking has cyanobacterial photobiont, bicellular ascospores, apothecia with white to golden-brown hairs on the margins, K+ violet apothecial margin (ring around disc) and epihymenium and a white to dark brown lower tomentum. In contrast, the green-algal species, S. carrascoensis Ossowska, Kukwa, B. Moncada & Lücking is characterised by its large size, apothecia with dark brown hairs on the margins and a yellow medulla. The cyanobacterial S. catharinae Ossowska, B. Moncada, Kukwa, Flakus, Rodriguez-Flakus & Lücking forms stipitate thalli with Nostoc as photobiont, abundant, laminal to submarginal apothecia and a golden-brown lower tomentum. Finally, the cyanobacterial S. pseudoimpressula Ossowska, Kukwa, B. Moncada & Lücking produces laminal apothecia with an orange-yellow line of pruina along the margins which reacts K+ carmine-red. In addition to the six new Bolivian taxa, the cyanobacterial S. narinioana B. Moncada, Ossowska & Lücking is described as new from Colombia and it represents the closely-related sister species of the Bolivian S. aymara; it differs from the latter largely in the marginal instead of laminal isidia.