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

Thallus: lacking or taking over part of the host lichen (Dirinaria spp.), endocapylic, not cecidogenous Apothecia: round, dispersed, crowded to confluent, sessile, 0.2-0.4(-0.7) mm in diam. margin: black, initially distinct or not, narrow, shiny, later evanescent disc: black, plane to convex, shiny, epruinose exciple: violet to orange-brown peripherally, orange to violet-brown internally, 25-40 µm thick above, 35-80 µm thick below, with hyphae 3-5 µm in diam. epihymenium: violet to violet-black, 8-15 µm thick hymenium: pale violet to violet, I-, 40-60 µm tall; paraphyses: branched, rarely anastomosing, 2-3 µm below, 3-5 µm thick apically; hypothecium: orange to orange-brown, up to 110 µm thick asci: clavate, Bacidia-type, 35-53 x 10-14 µm, with a 4-9 µm thick tholus, 8-spored ascospores: hyaline, simple, ellipsoid to subglobose, 6.510 x 4-7 µm Pycnidia: not seen Spot tests: all negative Secondary metabolites: none detected. Substrate and ecology: subtropical to tropical, on Dirinaria species (the Sonoran collections are all on D. neotropica) World distribution: Brazil to northern Mexico and West Africa Sonoran distribution: southern Arizona and the thorn forest-desert transition area of Sonora. Notes: Two other lichenicolous species of Tephromela without a macroscopically visible thallus have been recognized: T. campestricola on Lecanora pseudistera and T. koliensis on Lecanora argopholis. Because both of the lichen substrate species are common in the Sonoran region, these Tephromela species may well be found in the future. The original identification was kindly confirmed by D. Triebel.