Acantholichen galapagoensis | |
---|---|
Scientific classification
![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Fungi |
Division: | Basidiomycota |
Class: | Agaricomycetes |
Order: | Agaricales |
Family: | Hygrophoraceae |
Genus: | Acantholichen |
Species: | A. galapagoensis
|
Binomial name | |
Acantholichen galapagoensis Dal-Forno, Bungartz &
Lücking (2016)
|
Acantholichen galapagoensis, commonly known as the Galapagos spiny gladiator lichen, [1] is a species of basidiolichen in the family Hygrophoraceae. Found in the Galápagos Islands, it was formally described as a new species in 2016 by Manuela Dal-Forno, Frank Bungartz, and Robert Lücking. The type specimen was collected in Isla Santa Cruz at an elevation of 684 m (2,244 ft). Here in a dense forest of Cinchona pubescens it was found growing over Frullania liverworts. The specific epithet refers to its type locality. [2]
In 2017, Acantholichen galapagoensis was assessed for the global IUCN Red List as vulnerable due to its fragmented population, and because population control of the invasive Cinchona trees has a direct, detrimental impact on the lichen populations associated with it. [1]