Cora arcabucana B. Moncada, C. Rodr, & Lücking

Cora arcabucana B. Moncada, C. Rodr, & Lücking View in CoL , Fungal Diversity 84: 154 (2017)

Description.

For the characteristics of the species, see Lücking et al. (2017).

Habitat and distribution.

Until now Cora arcabucana was noted from montane rain forest between 2,500 and 3,000 m of the northern Andes in Colombia ( Lücking et al. 2017). The record of C. arcabucana given here is the first from Bolivia. Specimens were found at elevations between 2,250 m and 2,644 m in grazed and natural Yungas cloud forest.

Specimens examined.

Bolivia • Dept. Santa Cruz, Prov. Comarapa, PNANMI Amboró, Remate , 17°52'11"S, 64°20'53"W, elev. 2250 m, natural Yungas forest with big trees, 15 May 2017, P. Rodriguez 3885 ( KRAM; LPB) GoogleMaps . • Prov. Manuel María Caballero, near Siberia , 17°50'38"S, 64°42'20"W, elev. 2644 m, grazed Yungas cloud forest with a large amount of bryophytes near road, 7 Nov. 2016, A. Flakus 28035 ( KRAM; LPB) GoogleMaps .

Notes.

Both examined specimens of Cora arcabucana were characterised by aeruginous-green lobes without concentric colour zonation, with thin, involute, greenish-grey margins when fresh, with scattered surface hairs and scattered, dark, marginal soredia, as well as an adnate-confluent and emarginate hymenophore.

Cora arcabucana is morphologically related to C. davidia B. Moncada, L. Y. Vargas & Lücking with which it shares the epiphytic growth habit and the adnate-confluent hymenophore, as well as the numerous papillae developed on the lower surface (see Lücking et al. 2014 c). According to Lücking et al. (2017) C. davidia is a medium-sized, epiphytic species characterised by marginal soredia, with adnate confluent, emarginate hymenophore; meanwhile thallus of C. arcabucana produces sparse soredia, the surface is thinly pilose, and the papillae are narrower and more branched; in addition, the habitat ecology is different, with C. davidia being known only from paramo whereas C. arcabucana is a montane forest species. Another similar, closely related species is C. garagoa Simijaca, B. Moncada & Lücking , which is slightly larger than C. arcabucana and lacks soredia. Nevertheless, they are phylogenetically and ecologically different ( Lücking et al. 2017 and this study).

According to Lücking et al. (2017) both Cora arcabucana and the other mentioned species belong to the C. byssoidea clade represented by e. g., C. byssoidea Lücking & B. Moncada , C. dalehana B. Moncada, Madriñán & Lücking , C. putumayensis L. J. Arias, B. Moncada & Lücking , C. davibogotana Lücking, B. Moncada & Coca , and others, which is a group of species with a hymenophore forming rounded, adnate patches resembling the ascomata of the lichenized genus Myriostigma .