Biodiversity & Conservation

Black lichen - Lichina pygmaea - General information

Lichina pygmaea

Image Harvey Tyler-Walters - Lichina pygmaea amongst barnacles. Image width ca 5 cm.
Image copyright information

Distribution map

Lichina pygmaea recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

Sightings Have you seen Lichina pygmaea?
If so please submit your record.

Lichina pygmaea is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Dr Harvey Tyler-Walters Text page icon Refereed by:

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Ascomycota Sac fungi
Class Ascomycota Sac fungi
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Widely distributed around Britain and Ireland on wave exposed rocky shores but not recorded from the shores of south east England, probably due to a lack of suitable substrata.
Habitat information icon Habitat information May form extensive patchy mats at or just below high water level of neap tides on wave exposed rocky shores, especially on well-drained, south-facing surfaces. Usually associated with the upper limit of barnacles. A strictly maritime species.
Text page icon Description A dark brown to matt black lichen forming branching tufts up to 1cm tall. It occurs as patches or may form extensive mats on rocky shores. Thallus composed of flattened branches (lobes), that become rounded at the tips. Spherical fruiting bodies, up to 2 mm in diameter occur at the tips of the branches.

This review can be cited as follows:

Dr Harvey Tyler-Walters 2002. Lichina pygmaea. Black lichen. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 03/09/2010]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=3671>