Neoprotoparmelia Garima Singh, Lumbsch & I. Schmitt

Singh, Garima, ptroot, Andre, ico, Victor J., tte, Juergen, Pradeep K. Divakar,, Crespo, Ana, Caceres, Marcela Eugenia da Silva, H. Thorsten Lumbsch, & Schmitt, Imke, 2018, Neoprotoparmelia gen. nov. and Maronina (Lecanorales, Protoparmelioideae): species description and generic delimitation using DNA barcodes and phenotypical characters, MycoKeys 44, pp. 19-50 : 19

Neoprotoparmelia Garima Singh, Lumbsch & I. Schmitt gen. nov. Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Type species.

Neoprotoparmelia corallifera (Kantvilas & Papong) Garima Singh, Lumbsch & I. Schmitt

Etymology.

Derived from the Greek neos (=new) and its close relationship to Protoparmelia .

Diagnosis.

Thallus crustose. Apothecia lecanorine, broadly adnate to sessile; thalline margin distinct. Proper excipulum cupulate, hyaline. Asci 8- to multispored, clavate, variations of the Lecanora -type ( Hafellner 1984, Kantvilas and Elix 2007, Kantvilas et al. 2010). Paraphyses sparingly branched and anastomosing; apices clavate and brown-pigmented. Ascospores ellipsoid to fusiform to elongate, non-halonate. Pycnidia immersed, globose. Conidia bacilliform.

Chemistry.

Neoprotoparmelia species mainly produce depsidones of the alectoronic acid chemosyndrome.

Distribution and ecology.

The taxa of this genus occur in open habitats, mostly on bark, with only a few species growing on siliceous rock. This genus has a Pantropical distribution and is currently known from Australia, Brazil, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Thailand and south-eastern USA.

Remarks.

The new genus is morphologically similar to Maronina but can be distinguished by containing depsidones instead of depsides as found in Maronina and branched paraphyses. The genus is morphologically similar to Protoparmelia but was recognised as "tropical Protoparmelia clade" in Singh et al. (2015). The asci are essentially variations of the Lecanora -type sensu Hafellner (1984), and mainly coincides with those well studied by Kantvilas and Elix (2007) and Kantvilas et al. (2010). A detailed illustration of the ascus of N. pulchra is given in Aptroot et al. (1997a: 148, fig. 101a); it is similar to the ascus illustrated of Protoparmelia badia by Hafellner (1984: 393, fig.40).