Cora aturucoa

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Cora aturucoa is a rock-dwelling lichen from the high Andes of Colombia. It was described in 2016 by Robert Lücking, Bibiana Moncada, and Carlos Vargas. The name honors ATURUCOA, a community tourism group that manages the Peña Blanca trail where the lichen was found.

This lichen forms a large leafy rosette up to about 20 cm across on sunlit rocks. It has five to ten semicircular lobes, each about 3–6 cm wide and 2–4 cm long, meeting edge to edge. When fresh, the lobes are dark green‑gray to olive‑green with faint color bands; the outer margins are whitish and lightly hairy. Wetting the lichen gives a reddish tint near the reproductive surface. The top surface is gently undulating when moist and smooth when dry, while the bottom lacks a protective cortex and looks white and woolly. The thallus is relatively thin, with a pale layer underneath (the medulla). Reproductive tissue is present as cream-colored patches that later form a rim around the edge. Microscopically there are cells typical of lichens, but the spores have not yet been described. No secondary chemicals are detected by standard tests.

Cora aturucoa is closely related to Cora elephas, but differs in its wavy lobes and a pronounced marginal rim around the thallus. It has so far been found only at its type locality along the Peña Blanca trail beside the Río Tunjuelo, at about 2,850 meters elevation, growing on exposed rock and often alongside Cladonia lichens. The leaf‑like shape and the prominent marginal area, along with its reddish pigment when moistened, may help it retain moisture and cope with the mountain environment’s strong UV light.