Acantholichen
Encyclopedia
Acantholichen is a lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...

ized genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of fungi in the family Corticiaceae
Corticiaceae
The Corticiaceae are a family of fungi in the order Corticiales. The family formerly included almost all the corticioid fungi, whether they were related or not, and as such was highly artificial...

. It is a monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...

 genus, containing the sole species Acantholichen pannariodes, discovered originally in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

 in 1998. This species has a bluish, gelatinous thallus, and a fine, white powdery bloom covering the hairy upper surface; this surface is said to resemble "an unshaven chin".
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