Bacidia xylophila Malme (1932: 17)

Gerasimova, Julia V. & Ekman, Stefan, 2017, Taxonomy and nomenclature of seven names in Bacidia (Ramalinaceae, Lecanorales) described from Russia, Phytotaxa 316 (3), pp. 292-296 : 295-296

Bacidia xylophila Malme (1932: 17)

Type:— RUSSIA. The Sakha Republic (Yakutia): “Sibiria Arctica, Insula Preobraschenie”, 24 August 1878, E. Almquist s. n. (lectotype S L2810!, selected by Printzen 1995: 234 as “ holotype ”, ICN Art. 9.9; isolectotypes S L31737!, F270797!, F270798!) .

The lectotype of Bacidia xylophila was collected on wood on Preobrazhenia Island in the Khatanga Gulf of the Laptev Sea. Other original material cited by Malme (1932) was collected on Minin Island west of the Taymyr Peninsula and on one site on the north side of that peninsula. B. xylophila represents typical Lecania subfuscula and adds to the list of younger synonyms of that name (see Dillman et al. 2012).

Malme discussed the close relationship with L. subfuscula (as Bacidia subfuscula ), but separated it on account of the substrate, darker apothecia, and narrower ascospores. Ascospores size (14–18 × 2.5–3.0 μm according to our measurements; 15–20 × 2.5–3 μm according to Malme), however, is in the range normal for L. subfuscula , and apothecia in that species vary in colour from pinkish to brownish to black. L. subfuscula is also quite nonspecific about its substrate choice, inhabiting peat, decaying plant material, wood, bones, or sometimes rock in nutrient-enriched habitats. The type locality was specifically mentioned by Almquist (1882: 207) to be heavily manured by birds.

Additional specimens seen (all part of the original material): RUSSIA. Krasnoyarsk Krai, Taymyrsky Dolgano- Nenetsky District : “Siberia Arctica, Insula Tajmyr, Portus Actiniae”, 14–18 August 1878, Ernst Almquist s. n. (S F300360, F300361) ; “Siberia Arctica, Insula Minin”, 11 August 1878, Ernst Almquist s. n. (S F300362).