Acta Botanica Croatica Acta Bot Croat 0365-0588 1847-8476 Sveučilište u Zagrebu Prirodoslovno-matematički fakultet, Biološki odsjek University of Zagreb Faculty of Science, Division of Biology Rooseveltov trg 6, 10 000 Zagreb 10.37427/botcro-2025-007 Kratko priopćenje Short communication, Note First record of Pisutiella phaeothamnos in the western Mediterranean Aragón Gregorio gregorio.aragon@urjc.es Negrón Valerie negronv17@gmail.com Giménez Gil Fernando gilferetuerta@gmail.com 01 04 2025 84 105 106 CC BY (attribution) Acta Botanica Croatica je časopis s otvorenim pristupom uz minimalna ograničenja u pogledu ponovne uporabe sadržaja. Sav sadržaj je slobodno dostupan svima za neograničenu upotrebu i distribuciju, uz jedini uvjet da se autor(i) i izvor pravilno navedu u skladu s licencom Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Pretplata na časopis: Sadržaj starijih i novih brojeva dostupan je u elektroničkom obliku bez pretplate. Tiskana izdanja dostupna su uz pretplatu. Godišnja pretplata za tiskana izdanja za pojedince i institucije iznosi 50 EUR. Plaćanje se izvršava nakon primitka. Narudžbe se šalju uredništvu na email: acta@biol.pmf.hr Acta Botanica Croatica is an Open Access journal with minimal restrictions on content reuse. All content is freely available to anyone for unlimited use and distribution, provided that the author(s) and the original source are properly credited according to the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Subscription details: Current issues and the archive of Acta Botanica Croatica are fully and freely available online. The print version is available by subscription. The annual subscription for printed issues for individuals and institutions is 50 EUR. Payment should be made after receiving the invoice. Order should be sent to the Editorial Office at acta@biol.pmf.hr

We report the first record of Pisutiella phaeothamnos (Kalb & Poelt) S.Y. Kondr., Lőkös & Farkas in the western Mediterranean (Central Spain). The nearest previous records were from the Canary Islands and Greece. The species was discovered among mosses on volcanic rocks in the Spanish Central Volcanic Region. This finding represents a significant expansion of its distribution range.

 Iberian Peninsula muscicolous lichen volcanic rocks new record Introduction

Pisutiella phaeothamnos (Kalb & Poelt) S.Y. Kondr., Lőkös & Farkas (= Caloplaca phaeothamnos Kalb & Poelt) is a muscicolous species growing amongst moss (primarily Grimmia spp.) on base-rich volcanic rocks under arid or semiarid environmental conditions (Malíček et al. 2021). The known distribution range of the species extends to a few localities in Türkiye (Poelt and Kalb 1985, Vondrák et al. 2012), Greece (Malíček et al. 2021), Iran (Sohrabi and Sipman 2020) and the Canary Islands (Hafellner 1995). Herein, we document the first record of Pisutiella phaeothamnos in the Iberian Peninsula, thereby broadening its known range to encompass the southwestern region of Europe (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Global distribution of Pisutiella phaeothamnos. White cross: the new localities. Scale bar = 1000 km (derived and adapted from Google Earth).

Material and methods

Specimens were collected in 2023 and 2024, in the volcanic area “Campo de Calatrava” in Mediterranean Spain. The samples were deposited in the MACB Herbarium (Faculty of Biology, Complutense University of Madrid). The nomenclature followed the Index Fungorum Partnership (2024).

Localities of sampling: Spain: Ciudad Real province, Ballesteros de Calatrava, la Conejera, 38º48’0.2’’N, 3º56’20.5’’W, 830 m a.s.l., among mosses on volcanic rocks, G. Aragón & G. F. Giménez, nº 1566, November 16, 2023, MACB. Ciudad Real province, Almagro, Granátula de Calatrava, Cerro Gordo, 38º49’51.8’’N, 3º44’23’’W, 785 m a.s.l., G. Aragón, G. F. Giménez & V. Negrón, nº 1610, January 29, 2024, MACB

 Results and discussion

Pisutiella phaeothamnos is distinguishable from other crustose species of Caloplaca s. l. by the brown, minutely fruticulose thallus composed of branched lobes (4–5 mm tall), K–, ochraceous brown to orange apothecia (Fig. 2), and its ellipsoid and polarilocular spores of (7) 9–10 (11) × (4) 5–6 µm, and septum 3 µm wide. A comprehensive description of the species is documented in Poelt and Kalb (1985).

Fig. 2. Pisutiella phaeothamnos. A – volcanic rocks in “Cerro Gordo”, B – P. phaeothamnos among mosses in volcanic rock (scale bar = 1 cm), C – ochraceous brown apothecia (scale bar = 2 mm), D – minutely fruticulose thallus (scale bar = 2 mm) (Photo: G. Aragón).

The species grows among bryophytes (Grimmia decipiens (Schultz) Lindb.) on volcanic rocks, under dry and sunlit conditions, at elevations ranging from 750 to 850 meters (Fig. 2). It is found on moderately inclined surfaces together with Caloplaca stillicidiorum (Vahl) Lynge and small thalli of Cladonia foliacea (Huds.) Willd. and Protoparmeliopsis bolcana (Pollini) Lumbsch, which partially cover the bryophyte surface (Fig. 2).

The habitat was similar to that previously reported for Pisutiella phaeothamnos. The species appears solely amongst mosses in volcanic rocks at altitudes of 500–1700 m a.s.l. in Eastern Europe (Poelt and Kalb 1985, Vondrák et al. 2012, Malíček et al. 2021) and at elevations from 1500 to 1850 m a.s.l. in the Canary Islands (Hafellner 1995).

The new site is located within a vast volcanic region in central Spain, about 5,000 square kilometers in area (Becerra-Ramírez et al. 2020). The volcanic formations resulted from low-explosivity events dated to between 700,000 and 800,000 years ago and are primarily composed of alkaline rocks from the basalt series (Becerra-Ramírez et al. 2020). The predominant land use in this area is extensive agriculture of cereals, olive and almond trees, and sheep livestock management (Becerra-Ramírez et al. 2020).

Pisutiella phaeothamnos is reported here from SW Europe for the first time and its distribution area is now enlarged to include the Iberian Peninsula (Fig. 1). The nearest locality is situated in the Canary Islands (Hafellner1995).

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