Sticta brevior is a species of foliose lichen in the family Peltigeraceae. It is found in the Colombian Andes.

Sticta brevior
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Lecanoromycetes
Order: Peltigerales
Family: Peltigeraceae
Genus: Sticta
Species:
S. brevior
Binomial name
Sticta brevior
B.Moncada & Lücking (2013)

Taxonomy

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The lichen was formally described as a new species in by lichenologists Bibiana Moncada and Robert Lücking. The type specimen was collected from the Vereda La Candelaria (La Plata, Huila) at an altitude of 2,300 m (7,500 ft).[1]

In a time-calibrated chronogram of the phylogeny of the genus Sticta, Sticta brevior was most closely related to S. isidokunthii and a clade containing S. impressula, S. galowayana, and S. phyllidokunthii.[2] Sticta pseudoimpressula, described as new to science from Bolivia in 2022, is also closely related.[3]

Habitat and distribution

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Discovered in the Colombian Andes, Sticta brevior typically thrives in semi-exposed microsites within (sub-)andine forests bordering páramo vegetation at elevations ranging from 2,300 to 3,600 m (7,500 to 11,800 ft). It is predominantly found in the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Occidental regions, spanning sub-andine, andine, and páramo regions. While it usually grows as an epiphyte, it may occasionally grow on the ground, often in close proximity to liverworts of the family Lejeuneaceae, and the genera Frullania and Jubula, as well as Sphagnum mosses. Additionally, it has been observed growing near the ground on Blechnum ferns.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Moncada, Bibiana; Lücking, Robert; Coca, Luis Fernando (2013). "Six new apotheciate species of Sticta (lichenized Ascomycota: Lobariaceae) from the Colombian Andes". The Lichenologist. 45 (5): 635–656. doi:10.1017/s0024282913000376. S2CID 86204092.
  2. ^ Widhelm, Todd J.; Bertoletti, Francesca R.; Asztalos, Matt J.; Mercado-Díaz, Joel A.; Huang, Jen-Pan; Moncada, Bibiana; Lücking, Robert; Magain, Nicolas; Sérusiaux, Emmanuël; Goffinet, Bernard; Crouch, Nicholas; Mason-Gamer, Roberta; Lumbsch, H. Thorsten (2018). "Oligocene origin and drivers of diversification in the genus Sticta (Lobariaceae, Ascomycota)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 126: 58–73. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.04.006. PMID 29656104.
  3. ^ Ossowska, Emilia Anna; Moncada, Bibiana; Kukwa, Martin; Flakus, Adam; Rodriguez-Flakus, Pamela; Olszewska, Sandra; Lücking, Robert (2022). "New species of Sticta (lichenised Ascomycota, lobarioid Peltigeraceae) from Bolivia suggest a high level of endemism in the Central Andes" (PDF). MycoKeys (92): 131–160. doi:10.3897/mycokeys.92.89960. PMID 36761317.