Tropical Lichen Types Digitization Project

Description: featured project thumbnailThis database contains information on type specimens of tropical lichens, with emphasis on corticolous crustose species in the orders Arthoniales (Arthoniaceae, Roccellaceae), Dothideales (Trypetheliaceae), Pyrenulales (Pyrenulaceae), Ostropales (Graphidaceae, Porinaceae, Thelotremataceae), and Lecanorales (Lecanoraceae, Pilocarpaceae, Ramalinaceae). Each type specimen is treated as a catalogue of separate records, with information on nomenclature, taxonomic status, type status, type locality, and specific characteristics (e.g., chemistry), if available. Each record is accompanied by images of labels, annotation slips, specimens, and habit photographs of thallus and ascoma or other features; in selected cases, images of ascoma sections or ascospores and other anatomical details have been added. At present, some 1500 type specimens have been imaged, adding to a total of more than 7000 images. Edited records will constantly be entered into the database, and new records will be added once the basic information and images become available. If you want to contribute with your own data and images, please contact the TROPILIT database manager (Robert Luecking) for details regarding data and image formats. Every contribution is highly welcome!
Credits: The compilation of this database is possible thanks to NSF grant DEB 0206125 and to The Field Museum for the project TICOLICHEN - The Costa Rican Biodiversity Inventory. The curators of the participating herbaria (so far G: Philippe Clerc; H: Otto Vitikainen, Soili Stenroos; S: Anders Tehler; TUR: Seppo Huhtinen) are warmly thanked for their hospitality and support with this project).