Fungalpedia – Note 2640, Sarcopyrenia
Sarcopyrenia Nyl.
Citation when using this data: Meng QF et al. – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.
Classification: Sarcopyreniaceae, Verrucariales, Chaetothyriomycetidae, Eurotiomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi.
= Hassea Zahlbr., Beih. Botan. Centralbl., Abt. B 13: 150 (1902).
= Sarcopyreniomyces Cif. & Tomas., Atti Ist. bot. Univ. Lab. crittog. Pavia, sér. 5 10(1) 32, 60 (1953).
= Sarcopyreniopsis Cif. & Tomas., Atti Ist. bot. Univ. Lab. crittog. Pavia, sér. 5 10(1) 36, 60 (1953).
Sarcopyrenia was established by Nylander (1858) with a single species, S. gibba, designated as the type species. The species of this genus primarily grow on saxicolous crustose lichens such as Acarospora, Aspicilia, Caloplaca, candelariella, Lecania, Lichinella, Protoblastenia, Thelidium and saxicolous lichens of Verrucariaceae. The distinguishing characteristics of this genus are the hemispherical apothecia with a thick wall composed of two layers, and colorless spores with an elongated cylindrical shape, more or less slightly curved, worm-like in type species.
Based on the original description, Sarcopyrenia had traditionally been treated within the family Verrucariaceae (Verrucariales). Navarro-Rosinés et al. (1998) compared the structure of the ascomata of Sarcopyrenia with other genera in Verrucariaceae and proposed the new family Sarcopyreniaceae Nav.-Ros. & Cl. Roux within Verrucariales.
For a long time, Sarcopyrenia gibba was the only species in this genus and was widely considered as a lichen by most authors (Zahlbruckner 1922, Poelt et al. 1969, Clauzade et al. 1985). Sarcopyrenia was not formally recognized as a genus of lichenicolous fungi until the taxonomic revisions by Clauzade et al. (1989), Navarro-Rosinés et al. (1990), and Aguirre-Hudson (1991). Since then, the number of recognized taxa has progressively increased. Navarro-Rosinés et al. (1990) described S. bacillospora on Thelidium and Verrucaria, and combined S. beckhausina S. cylindrospora, and S. gibba var. geisleri, primarily found on various saxicolous crustose lichens. Navarro-Rosinés et al. (1998, 2009) further described S. acutispora, S. baetica, S. lichinellae and S. pluriseptata. Lendemer et al. (2013) introduced the new species S. calcarea, which grows on Protoblastenia rupestris. Most recently, Cannon et al. (2023) combined S. geisleri from Lithosphaeria geisleri Beckh. ex Körb., which grows on Caloplaca. To date, there are 12 species in this genus, all of which are lichenicolous.
Type species: Sarcopyrenia gibba Nyl.
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Sarcopyrenia.
Figure 1 – Sarcopyrenia gibba redrawn from Navarro-Rosinés et al. (1990), Farkas et al. (2003). a Perithecia on thallus. b Section of perithecium. c Ascus. d Ascospores. e Germinated spores. Scale bars: a = 2mm, b = 100 μm, c–e = 20 μm.
References
Julella, Leptorhaphis, Leptosillia, Lithothelium, Mycomicrothelia, Mycoporum, Naetrocymbe, Pyrenula, Rhaphidicyrtis, Sarcopyrenia,
Swinscowia and Tomasellia. Revisions of British and Irish Lichens 37, 1–59.
Clauzade G, Diederich P, Roux C. 1989 – Nelikenigintaj fungoj likenlogaj. Ilustrita determinlibro. Bulletin de la Société Linnéenne de Provence 1, 1–142.
Clauzade G, Roux C. 1985 – Likenoj de Okcidenta Eŭropo. Ilustrita determinlibro, 1–893.
Lendemer J, Harris R, Tripp EA. 2013 – The lichens and allied fungi of Great Smoky Mountains National Park: An annotated checklist with comprehensive keys. Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden 104, 1–152.
Poelt J, Vezda A 1969 – Bestimmungsschlüssel europäischer Flechten. Cramer, 1–757.
Zahlbruckner A. 1922 – Catalogus Lichenum Universalis. 1, 1–696.
Entry by
Meng QF, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, 57100, Thailand and School of Public Health, Zunyi Medical University, Guizhou 563000, China.
Published online 25 June 2026