Two species of the lichen genus Carbacanthographis, namely C. marcescens and a new species, C. sorediata, are reported from India. The new species is characterized by a sorediate thallus, laterally carbonized exciple, submuriform ascospores, and salazinic and consalazinic acids in the thallus. A worldwide key to the species of Carbacanthographis is provided.

The new genus Wirthiotrema Rivas Plata, Kalb & Frisch. is described for the Thelotrema glaucopallens group, based on molecular and morphological evidence, with W. glaucopallens as the type species. The genus is characterized by myriotremoid thalli and apothecia, in combination with a paraplectenchymatous excipulum, I− ascospores, and stictic acid as a secondary compound. The new combinations W. glaucopallens (Nyl.) Rivas Plata & Kalb comb. nov., W. santessonii (Hale) Rivas Plata & Frisch comb. nov., and W. trypaneoides (Nyl.) Rivas Plata & Lücking comb. nov., are proposed and a key to the three species is presented.

Thelotremoid lichens (Ostropales, Ascomycota) with a trentepohlioid photobiont in Tierra del Fuego, the Falkland Islands, the South Island of New Zealand, and subpolar islands of the southern Hemisphere are studied. Twenty-five species are accepted, with three species described as new to science: Melanotopelia blepharostoma Lumbsch & Divakar, Topeliopsis athallina Lumbsch & Mangold and Topeliopsis patagonica Mangold & Lumbsch. The new combination Topeliopsis novae-zelandiae (Szatala) Lumbsch & Mangold is proposed.

Anomomorpha elegans, a new species characterized by lirelline ascocarps, dark reddish brown, pruinose disc, bowl shaped exciple composed of elongate hyphae, hymenium inspersed with crystals, muriform ascospores and salazinic acid in the thallus, is described from India.

The species assigned to the genus Catillochroma are reassessed. The two characters used to characterize Catillochroma, exciple anatomy and thalline chemistry, are shown to be variable and contradictory with a number of intermediates. Consequently, Catillochroma is reduced to synonymy with Megalaria, and the species previously placed in Catillochroma transferred, or returned, to Megalaria. As such, the following new combinations are proposed: Megalaria anaglyptica, M. endochroma, M. intermiscens and M. leptocheila. The genus Lopezaria is also shown to be related to Megalaria and to be closely related to the type species of Catillochroma, C. endochroma, and so is also reduced to synonymy with Megalaria. A number of species found to have been misplaced in Catillaria are also transferred to Megalaria: M. leucochlora, M. melanopotamica, M. obludens, M. pannosa and M. phaeolomiza. Megalaria imshaugii is reduced to synonymy with M. obludens, Megalaria pannosa is reported for the first time from North America and Lopezaria isidiza is reported for the first time from outside Asia from Jamaica.

As part of our ongoing studies of the Graphidaceae in North America, we resolve the status of all taxa traditionally assigned to the genus Graphina that have been reported from the continent north of Mexico. Treatments for the North American members of Acanthothecis, Carbacanthographis, and Diorygma are presented because several species of Graphina have been reassigned to these genera, and our studies of accumulated herbarium materials revealed the existence of several previously unreported and unrecognized species. The following new combinations are made: Acanthothecis leucopepla, A. mosquitensis, A. peplophora, and A. poitaeoides. Carbacanthographis muriformis is described as new to science based on material from Florida. The following taxa are reported from North America for the first time: Acanthothecis poitaeoides,Diorygma junghuhnii, D. reniforme.

Eleven species are recognized of which C. bogilana and C. subflavorubescens are described here as new to science while nine species (C. cinnabarina, C. decipiens, C. ferruginea, C. inconspecta, C. pellodella, C. scopularis, C. stantonii, C. squamosa and C. subsoluta) are reported for the first time for South Korea. Both new species are peculiar due to their secondary chemistry; anthraquinones along with atranorin, gyrophoric acid and lecanoric acid in C. bogilana, and gyrophoric acid together with anthraquinones in C. subflavorubescens.

Stigmidium humidum is described from Spain and Turkey on Thelenella muscorum (Fr.) Vain. (syn Chromatochlamys muscorum (Fr.) H. Mayrhofer & Poelt). The species is the first Stigmidium s. str. species on a host lichen of the family Thelenellaceae and is compared with other species with ‘Type a’ pseudoparaphyses.

This paper presents a study to partition the role of three regional-scale drivers – woodland extent and continuity, pollution regime, and climatic setting – in explaining the composition and richness of lichen epiphytes in Scotland. To do this we used partial canonical correspondence analysis and multiple least squares regression, to examine lichen communities across 170 study sites. First, our results demonstrate the importance of climate in explaining species composition. This highlights the relatively clean-air environment of Scotland within a European setting, and emphasizes the important consideration of regional context in the development of bioclimatic species-response models. This result contrasts with a previous similar study which collapsed complex environmental data into summary gradients, and which therefore discounted climate as a key factor. Second, we show a functional decoupling between composition and species richness, which was optimally explained by old-growth woodland extent and pollution, and only weakly explained by climate. The difference in explanatory variables between composition and richness is a focal issue in determining the processes by which species compositional change, driven by rapid and deep climate change, may indirectly impact species richness. For example, this impact may occur through an imbalance in rates of species extinction (for sensitive range-edge species) and establishment in a fragmented landscape (for dispersal-limited colonists), though operating against the ‘stabilizing effect’ of microclimatic setting.

Rinodina fuscoisidiata, a muscicolous isidiate species with large isidia and Pachysporaria-type ascospores is described from Venezuela. This species contains an unknown terpene as a major secondary metabolite in addition to traces of atranorin. It is compared with the four known isidiate Rinodina taxa.

In North America the names Punctelia subrudecta and P. perreticulata have variously been applied to corticolous sorediate Punctelia specimens with lecanoric acid and a pale lower surface. ITS1, 5.8S, and ITS2 sequence data were generated from a geographically and morphologically broad sampling from within these specimens, and a molecular phylogeny was inferred. A combined approach using morphology, geography, and phylogeny was used to circumscribe three distinct species in North America, one of which is described as new to science (P. caseana), one of which is finally confirmed for the continent (P. jeckeri), and one whose original circumscription is validated (P. perreticulata). The phylogeny inferred from ITS sequence data supports the taxonomic value of the following morphological characters for distinguishing species in this group: presence/absence of pruina; conidium type and length (although see discussion of P. jeckeri), and presence/absence of scrobiculae on the upper surface. A key to the North American species of Punctelia is provided.

Herpothallon biacidum Frisch et al. is described from Queensland, tropical Australia. The new species is characterized by a thick byssoid thallus that is loosely attached to the substratum, globular to claviform to short cylindrical pseudoisidia, a brown to brownish black hypothallus, and by the presence of gyrophoric and norstictic acids. This is the first reported co-occurrence of gyrophoric and norstictic acids in the genus. The differences between H. biacidum and other species containing either norstictic acid or gyrophoric acid are discussed. Herpothallon biacidum is also compared with Cryptothecia eungellaeae. Both occur in north Queensland and have the same chemistry, but the latter has a closely adnate thallus and lacks the dark hypothallus and pseudoisidia. The circumscription of Herpothallon and its distinction from Cryptothecia are discussed.

Buellia rhizocarpica is described from Mexico. This corticolous species is characterized by a yellowish, granulose thallus, the presence of rhizocarpic acid and an unknown pulvinic acid derivative, apothecia containing large amounts of micromera-green together with yellow crystals which react K+ pinkish and by the presence of very small, Buellia-type ascospores. It grows in a well-preserved Pinus hartwegii forest at c. 4000 m altitude at the base of the volcano Popocatepetl.

Using the nuclear ITS (nuITS) region of the ribosomal DNA and an MP/Bayesian approach, a phylogenetic study was carried out to evaluate the relationship of Parmelia lindmanii with other members of the parmelioid lichen group. Our results showed that P. lindmanii does not belong to the genus Myelochroa, as previously proposed, but is within the clade containing the type species of Parmelinella.

Gastropod abundance was quantified in forest litter around 33 trees harbouring Lobaria pulmonaria in southern Norway. In total, 1709 snails representing 28 species were found, and the number of snail species strongly increased with the total number of specimens found. Number of snail species, as well as snail abundance, was highest around trees on high pH soils. There was a positive relationship between number of snail specimens and cover of grazing traces on L. pulmonaria, presumably because calcareous soils facilitate both litter dwelling and climbing gastropods. The results suggest that gastropods may limit the distribution of L. pulmonaria in calcareous broad-leaved forests.

Four species of the genus Graphis Adans. are described as new to science, namely G. archeri, G. invisibilis, G. lueckingii and G. paranaensis. These new species were found growing in restinga forest in southern Brazil.

Aspiciliopsis macrophthalma, Placopsis fusciduloides, P. gelidioides and P. tararuana are reported for the first time from southern South America. New records for 13 species of Placopsis in southern South America are reported, and a revised key to 22 species of Placopsis and A. macrophthalma in the region is given.

Acarospora rosulata is revised and reported from North America and Mongolia. Acarospora bullata is not verified as occurring in South and North America and may be conspecific with A. rugulosa.