Nash, T.H., Ryan, B.D., Gries, C., Bungartz, F., (eds.) 2004. Lichen Flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region. Vol 2.

Life habit: lichenized Thallus: crustose, thin, uniform photobiont: primary one chlorococcoid, of class Trebouxiophyceae, of genus Dictyochloropsis, secondary one absent Ascomata: apothecial, lecideine to biatorine, adnate to sessile, round disc: concave to plane then slightly convex, reddish brown to dark brown or black, epruinose margin: when young thick and swollen, later excluded exciple: dark, brown to reddish or violet-reddish at edge, colorless to pale brown within, often inspersed, with radiating, branched hyphae but not anastomosing, lacking algal cells, thus an amphithecium not developed; hyphae: rather thick, densely packed, rather thin-walled, with lumina 1.53 µm wide and not or only slightly widened near the rim epihymenium: yellowish to brown, K-, N- hymenium: I+ blue then wine red; paraphyses: richly occurring, rather laxly coherent, simple, or, above all in the region of the epihymenium, also branched and anastomosing, with slightly clavate tips thickened, often with dark brown hood; hypothecium: pale, often inspersed asci: clavate, with I+, K/I+ blue tholus, without an ocular chamber and axial mass, 8- to 16-spored ascospores: hyaline, 1-septate, with thin-walled, central, somewhat constricted septum, ellipsoid to broadly ellipsoid, 9-15 x 5-7 µm, ascospore wall: rather thick, layered, externally with a compact gelatinous halo Conidiomata: not observed Secondary metabolites: none detected Substrate: on bark or wood Geography: Europe, Asia, North and South America. Notes: Catinaria is characterized especially by the following features: asci with amyloid tholus without distinct ocular chamber and axial mass; ascospores hyaline, 1-septate, with a compact gelatinous halo; the photobion was reported as belonging to Trentepohlia, but has recently been identified as species of Dictyochloropsis (see LIAS). Three other genera have been confused with Catinaria: Megalaria has asci with a tholus showing a broad, non-amyloid apical cushion, a distinct axial mass and an ocular chamber; Phyllopsora has asci with a distinct cone-shaped axial mass and a usually well-developed, mostly microlobulate thallus containing lichen substances; Catillaria in the strict sense has asci provided with an amyloid tholus completely lacking both an axial mass and ocular chamber, and has abruptly swollen brown-capitate paraphyses tips; all three of these genera have non-halonate ascospores and other chlorococcoid photobionts.