Lecidella varangrica sp. nov. from the Varanger Peninsula, northernmost Norway

Abstract

The new species Lecidella varangrica Haugan & Tønsberg is described from the northern shores of the Varanger Peninsula, Finnmark, Norway. It probably belongs to the saxicolous L. asema group by having a pigmented hypothecium and by producing chloroxanthones. Lecidella varangrica is distinguishable from other species in this group by a set of characters: the presence of soralia, the small apothecia with rather small ascospores, and the production of aotearone as the major chemical constituent. Lecidella varangrica is a species of vertical to overhanging weather-protected rock faces with strong marine influence along the harsh shores of the Barents Sea.