Notes on the lichen genus Pyrenodesmia (Teloschistaceae) on the dry slopes of the Binaloud Mountain, Northeastern Iran

Haji Moniri, Mahroo; Abasjou, Meysam; Gholamin, Mehran

doi:10.48311/ecopersia.2026.122520.82940

Notes on the lichen genus Pyrenodesmia (Teloschistaceae) on the dry slopes of the Binaloud Mountain, Northeastern Iran

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

Mahroo Haji Moniri ¹

Meysam Abasjou ²

Mehran Gholamin ³

¹ Department of Biology, Ma.C., Islamic Azad University, Rahnamaee Street, Mashhad, Iran.

² Department of Biology, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran

³ Immunology Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

10.48311/ecopersia.2026.122520.82940

Abstract

Aims: The genus Pyrenodesmia (Teloschistaceae) is a species-rich group of calcicolous crustose lichens with a Holarctic distribution, but its diversity in the calcareous montane habitats of northeastern Iran is poorly documented. This study aimed to identify Pyrenodesmia specimens from this region and to characterize their basic ecological setting.
Materials & Methods: We collected four specimens from seven thalli from calcareous rock on the southern slopes of Binaloud Mountain at 1600–2000 m above sea level. Identification was based on morphological and anatomical examination and standard spot tests, with confirmation by a Teloschistaceae specialist.
Findings: Three specimens were identified as Pyrenodesmia transcaspica, P. microstepposa, and P. micromontana; the fourth was tentatively identified as P. cf. micromontana and requires molecular data for confirmation. All specimens had diagnostic features of Pyrenodesmia sensu stricto: K−, C−, KC−, CK−, Thallus and Apothecia, and K+ purple (pale to dark) Epithecium, indicating the presence of Sedifolia-gray pigment and the absence of anthraquinones. These records are additional confirmed localities for the three species in Iran.
Conclusion: All specimens grew on calcareous rock; the substrates of P. transcaspica and P. micromontana agree with earlier reports, whereas P. microstepposa, previously also reported on siliceous rock, was recorded here on calcareous rock. Because we sampled few specimens and only one substrate type, these findings are preliminary, and broader sampling and molecular data are needed.

Keywords

Biodiversity

Calcicolous Lichens

Ecological Zones

Taxonomy

Subjects

Terrestrial Ecosystems

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