Lecanora skottsbergii Darb., Wiss. Ergebn. Schwed. Südpolar-Exped.4(11): 9 (1912); type: South Georgia, Cumberland Bay, Moraine Fjord, C. Skottsberg (S— lectotypus!).
Tephromela austrolitoralis (Zahlbr.) Kalb & Elix syn. nov., Australasian Lichenology 63: 33 (2008)—Lecanora austrolitoralis Zahlbr., Meddel. Göteborgs Bot. Trädg. 2: 14 (1926); type: Chile, Coquimbo, Loma Frei Jorge, auf Gestein, C. Scottsberg (W—holotypus).
Schismatomma fuegiensis C.W. Dodge syn. nov., Nova Hedwigia12: 328 (1967) [1966]; type: Chile, Tierra del Fuego, Mt. Dorothea near Southwest corner of Argentina, on rock, P.A. Simple & R.G. Frazier 392 (FH—holotypus!).
See Elix & Kalb (2008) for a full description of this species (as T. austrolitoralis).
Notes.Tephromela skottsbergii is widespread and frequent in the southern subpolar region with many collections previously referred to T. atra belonging here. It is also frequent in the Antarctic; of a random selection of 16 collections of T. atra from South Georgia, South Orkney Islands, South Shetland Islands, and the Antarctic Peninsula in the herbarium of the British Antarctic Survey (AAS), 13 were referable to T. skottsbergii and none to T. atra (one was referable to T. superba, whereas the other two were not referable to Tephromela). Tephromelia skottsbergii differs from the cosmopolitan T. atra only by the inspersed hymenium and slightly shorter conidia (Elix & Kalb 2008). However, the difference in conidia is small (10–20 against 15–20 µm) and possibly not significant, whereas the degree of inspersion of the hymenium appears variable. Consequently, it is not certain that a distinct species is involved, but T. skottsbergii is accepted here pending full molecular/morphological investigation of the T. atra complex. Darbishire (1912) separated his new species from T. atra by its large apothecia, but these are within the range of that species.
Dodge’s ability to describe a new species in a genus totally unrelated to the correct one is well documented (Hertel 1988; Castello & Nimis 1995) and his description of a species of Tephromela in the completely unrelated genus Schismatomma would be beyond comprehension if it were anyone else. He described the ascospores of his new species as “ellipsoid to subfusiform, 4-locular, 18 × 3 µm” and the photobiont as “Trentepohlia” (Dodge 1966) suggesting he may have been looking at a different specimen. However, the rest of his description is fairly accurate (e.g., “Apothecia sessile, 1·2–1·5 mm in diameter, margins white, entire: disc subconvex, black, nitid…”) and clearly indicates that this was the specimen he was describing under this name. Presumably, he mistook the septate paraphyses for ascospores.
Australasian Lichenology 63: 33 (2008)
Tephromela austrolitoralis (Zahlbr.) Kalb & Elix
Mycobank No.: 509710
Basionym: Lecanora austrolitoralis Zahlbr., Meddel. Göteborgs Bot. Trädg.2, 14 (1926) Type. Chile: Coquimbo: Loma Frei Jorge, auf Gestein, C. Scottsberg (holotype—W!).
Description
Thallus saxicolous, crustose, bullate or areolate, off-white, pale grey to pale yellowbrown, 0.5–0.9 mm thick, up to 5 cm wide. Areolae irregularly shaped, 0.5–1.5 mm wide, congested, at length fissured and separate, rarely cerebriform; upper surface smooth or roughened, glossy or matt, ±flat to convex, lacking isidia and soredia. Prothallus not apparent.
Apothecia common, scattered to crowded, sessile, constricted at the base, 1.0–2.5 mm wide; disc weakly concave at first, then flat or weakly convex, roundish, black, glossy, epruinose; thalline exciple usually prominent, persistent, smooth, rarely reduced; proper exciple colourless, 100–200 μm thick; epithecium dark violet-brown to black; hymenium red-brown to purple-brown, finely inspersed, 50–60 μm tall; hypothecium brown to yellow-brown, 100–150 μm thick. Ascospores simple, ellipsoidal to ovoid-ellipsoidal, thick-walled, 10–14(–17) x 5–8 μm. Conidia filiform, straight, 10–20 x 1.0–1.5 μm.
Notes. This species has not been reported since Zahlbruckner’s original description of it (Zahlbruckner 1926). Tephromela austrolitoralis is a saxicolous species characterized by the presence of atranorin and α-collatolic acid, the lack of soredia, and the inspersed, purple-brown to red-brown pigmented hymenium. Saxicolous specimens of T. atra differ in having a non-inspersed hymenium and somewhat larger conidia (15–20 x 1–1.5 μm vs. 10–20 x 0.8–1 μm). The brownish colour of the thallus observed in the type specimen has probably been caused by environmental factors, and is not accorded any taxonomic significance here.