ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Coccocarpia aptrootii, a new lichen species from Mauritius
1
National Museum of Natural History, 25 rue Munster, L-2160 Luxembourg,
Luxembourg
2
Meise Botanic Garden, Department of Research, Nieuwelaan 38,
1860 Meise, Belgium, and Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Service
général de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche scientifique,
rue A. Lavallée 1, 1080 Bruxelles, Belgium
3
Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172 Blindern,
0318 Oslo, Norway
Submission date: 2026-02-28
Acceptance date: 2026-06-23
Online publication date: 2026-07-31
Publication date: 2026-07-31
Plant and Fungal Systematics 2026; 71(1): 91-96
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
A new species of Coccocarpia is described from Mauritius based on morphological
and molecular evidence. The species is corticolous and currently known from four localities
in parkland and natural mountain forest habitats. It is characterized by comparatively large
thallus lobes, a distinctly pruinose upper surface, and abundant laminal isidia that are initially
subspherical and later elongate into cylindrical to coralloid structures. Phylogenetic analysis
of nuclear ITS rDNA sequences places the Mauritian material as a distinct lineage within
Coccocarpia, not nested within any currently sampled species-level clade. The combined
morphological distinctiveness and molecular differentiation support its recognition as a new
species, here described as Coccocarpia aptrootii. This discovery further demonstrates that
species diversity in Coccocarpia remains underestimated, particularly in tropical regions.
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| eISSN: | 2657-5000 |
| ISSN: | 2544-7459 |
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