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Huriella flakusii

Huriella flakusii is a species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling) crustose lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in the Colca Canyon region of southern Peru.

Taxonomy

The species was described in 2020 from semi-desert localities in the Arequipa Region, and the epithet honors the Polish lichenologist Adam Flakus. DNA data place it in the subfamily Xanthorioideae (Amundsenia–Squamulea group), as sister to Huriella loekoesiana from South Korea.

Description

The thallus is orange and squamulose (made of small scales), sometimes strongly reduced, and it lacks soredia and isidia. Apothecia (fruiting bodies) are abundant and often crowded together, typically 0.2–1.0 mm wide, with a reddish and a double margin. The thallus and apothecial tissues react K+ (purple) due to anthraquinone pigments. Ascospores are and broadly ellipsoid, measuring 10–15 × 5.0–9.5 ÃŽÂ¼m with a septum that is 2–4 ÃŽÂ¼m. Pycnidia are immersed in the thallus and produce bacilliform conidia 3–4 × 1 ÃŽÂ¼m.

Habitat and distribution

Huriella flakusii grows on siliceous rock in open, arid montane habitats at about elevation, and is known only from a few collections near Achoma and Cabanaconde in the Colca Canyon area.

References