Phylogenetic study of the Cladonia cervicornis group (Cladoniaceae, Lecanorales) discloses a new species, Cladonia teuvoana

Raquel Pino-Bodas*, Alberto Herrero, André Aptroot, Ulrik Søchting, Richard Troy McMullin, Ana Rosa Burgaz

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

The Cladonia cervicornis group comprises lichen-forming fungi characterized by having scyphi with central proliferations. It includes c. 20 species globally. The taxonomy of this group is poorly resolved, with many species not thoroughly disentangled. The focus of this study is the European species in the C. cervicornis group. In order to estimate the phylogenetic relationships of these species, six loci were used: ITS rDNA, IGS rDNA, RPB1, RPB2, ef1α and cox1. Species delimitation methods (ASAP, PTP and GMYC) were used to infer the species boundaries based on four loci, ITS rDNA, IGS rDNA, cox1 and RPB2. A morphological analysis based on multivariate methods was performed to assess the importance of phenotypic differences among the lineages. The phylogenetic reconstructions placed the species of this group in the subclade Cladonia. Five lineages were recovered, corresponding to C. cervicornis, C. macrophyllodes, C. pulvinata, C. verticillata and a new lineage that we describe here, C. teuvoana. Our analyses revealed that Cladonia cineracea, C. stricta and C. trassii are polyphyletic.

Original languageEnglish
JournalLichenologist
Volume56
Issue number5
Pages (from-to)237-258
Number of pages22
ISSN0024-2829
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024.

Keywords

  • Lecanoromycetes
  • lichens
  • morphology
  • taxonomy

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