Staurospora
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Ascomycota
Class:	Arthoniomycetes
Order:	Arthoniales
Family:	Arthoniaceae
Genus:	Staurospora Grube (2018)
Species:	S. purpurissata
Binomial name
Staurospora purpurissata ( Nyl.) Grube (2018)
Synonyms [1]
Arthonia purpurissata Nyl. (1863)

Staurospora purpurissata is a fungal genus in the family Arthoniaceae. This monotypic genus contains the single species Staurospora purpurissata, ^[2] a corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen. It is distinguished from other genera in the family by its unique spherical ascospores. The genus was circumscribed in 2018 by the Austrian lichenologist Martin Grube. ^[3] The type species was originally described by William Nylander in 1863, who placed it in the genus Arthonia. In his original characterisation of the species, Nylander described it as having a thallus that is either white or pale and very thin, either matte and undefined or bordered by a blackish prothallus line. The apothecia (fruiting bodies) are dark brown to black, oblong and irregularly shaped, flat, and of medium size (width approximately 0.5 millimeters), barely protruding, sometimes showing a hint of redness or having a purple-tinged upper margin, with the inside being darkly scarlet or somewhat red-tinged. This species typically grows on tree bark and the type specimen was collected at an elevation of 2,500 m (8,200 ft). Nylander emphasized its paradoxical nature within the genus, especially due to its unique colouration and habitat, differentiating it significantly from related species and assigning it to a distinct section of the genus characterised by variably coloured, non-black apothecia. ^[4]

References

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