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Massalongiaceae fam. nov., an overlooked monophyletic group among the cyanobacterial lichens (Peltigerales, Lecanoromycetes, Ascomycota)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2006

Mats WEDIN
Affiliation:
The Swedish Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 50007, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden. Email: mats.wedin@nrm.se
Per Magnus JØRGENSEN
Affiliation:
Bergen Museum, Bergen University, Allégaten 41, N-5007 Bergen, Norway
Elisabeth WIKLUND
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden

Abstract

In this investigation we utilized parsimony and Bayesian analyses of mtSSU and nuLSU rDNA sequence datasets to show that the lichenized ascomycete genera Leptochidium and Polychidium (formerly classified in Placynthiaceae) form a well-supported monophyletic group with Massalongia (Peltigerales, Lecanoromycetes, Ascomycota). This group is also supported by morphological characteristics (ascus type, ascoma ontogeny and anatomy), but does not have a formal name on any level. We describe it here as the family Massalongiaceae. Massalongiaceae is related to a group consisting of Peltigeraceae-Nephromataceae, and Lobariaceae, but the detailed relationships within this group are not resolved with convincing support.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© British Lichen Society 2007

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