Sporocybomyces
Sporocybomyces is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Gomphillaceae. It currently includes four species: Sporocybomyces pulcher (the type species), Sporocybomyces leucomuralis, Sporocybomyces leucotrichoides, and Sporocybomyces macgregorii.
Taxonomy and history: The genus was first described by lichenologist Heraldo da Silva Maia in 1967, with S. pulcher as the only species. In 2023, Sporocybomyces was revived to include the Echinoplaca leucotrichoides lineage, and three additional species were added.
What it looks like: The main body of the lichen (the thallus) forms a continuous layer with a finely warty surface and usually lacks hair-like projections (setae). The reproductive structures, called apothecia, lie flat on the thallus and appear as small spots, similar to those in Echinoplaca. The spores are large and have multiple internal walls (septa); they are typically muriform, meaning they have a maze-like, two-dimensional pattern of walls.
Two distinctive features separate Sporocybomyces from related fungi: short, blunt, bristle-like hyphophores that are white with dark tips, and thread-like diahyphae that end in club-shaped or sausage-shaped segments, each divided by multiple internal walls.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:52 (CET).