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Type: Article
Published: 2012-11-30
Page range: 1–29
Abstract views: 18
PDF downloaded: 2

Ten new species of Sticta and counting: Colombia as a hot spot for unrecognized diversification in a conspicuous macrolichen genus

Licenciatura en Biología, Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, Cra. 4 No. 26B-54, Torre de Laboratorios, Herbario, Bogotá, Colombia Doctorado en Ciencias-Biología. Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Department of Botany, The Field Museum, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago
cyphellae Lobariaceae paramos phyllidia Colombia Fungi

Abstract

As part of a systematic and taxonomic revision including molecular phylogenetic analysis, ten new species of the lichen genus Sticta are described from Colombia, some of them also being reported from Guatemala, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile: Sticta arachnofuliginosa Moncada & Lücking, sp. nov., S. arbuscula Moncada & Lücking, sp. nov., S. isidiokunthii Moncada & Lücking, sp. nov., S. maculofuliginosa Moncada & Lücking, sp. nov., S. microcyphellata Moncada & Lücking, sp. nov., S. papillata Moncada & Lücking, sp. nov., S. rhizinata Moncada & Lücking, sp. nov., S. rubropruinosa Moncada & Lücking, sp. nov., S. silverstonii Moncada & Lücking, sp. nov., and S. tunjensis Moncada & Lücking, sp. nov. The new species represent the major morphological groups within the genus, including taxa with green or blue-green photobiont and with predominantly sexual (apothecia) or vegetative (isidia) reproduction. Detailed morphological, anatomical, and chemical descriptions are given for each species, and all taxa are briefly discussed. We also introduce several novel characters useful in the taxonomy of Sticta.