Astrothelium inspersoconicum

Astrothelium inspersoconicum is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Trypetheliaceae. Found in Sri Lanka, it was described as a new species in 2018.

Taxonomy
The species was officially described by the lichenologists André Aptroot and Gothamie Weerakoon in 2018. The type specimen was collected by the second author in the Runakanda – Maguru Ganga area of Sri Lanka, at an elevation of 249 m. The epithet inspersoconicum reflects the unique combination of an  and its association with the conicum-aggregate group within the genus Astrothelium, which is a rare feature in this group.

Description
Astrothelium inspersoconicum has a, smooth, and somewhat shiny thallus covering areas up to 15 cm in diameter, with a pale greenish-grey hue and a distinct brown, glossy prothallus line. Its ascomata (fruiting bodies) are and primarily aggregated, with a  wall and eccentric, fused, and conical ostioles covered by an orange. The hamathecium of the species is with oil globules, a distinguishing feature. It carries hyaline, (tapered) ascospores that have three septa (internal partitions) with diamond-shaped, and measure 23–25 by 7–8 μm.

It is closely related to Astrothelium cinnamomeum but can be distinguished by its inspersed hamathecium. It represents a rare instance within the Astrothelium conicum-group, in which the hamathecium is typically not inspersed.

Habitat and distribution
This species is found in Asia, specifically recorded in Sri Lanka.