Ameliella is a 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 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 fungi in the Lecanoraceae

Lecanoraceae

The Lecanoraceae are a family of lichenized fungi in the order Lecanorales. Species of this family have a widespread distribution.-Genera:*Ameliella*Arctopeltis*Bryonora*Bryodina*Calvitimela - status uncertain*Carbonea...

 family. Described in 2008, the genus contains two species, A. andreaeicola and A. grisea, that were collected from high elevations in the Scottish Highlands

Scottish Highlands

The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...

. The two species have also been found in single instances in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 and Northern Norway. The generic name is derived from the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 ameleo, meaning "neglected" or "overlooked"; it was originally intended to be Amelia, which is also the first name of the daughter of one of the authors, but this name had previously been used for another genus and was therefore ineligible for use according to the rules of mycological nomenclature

Nomenclature

Nomenclature is a term that applies to either a list of names or terms, or to the system of principles, procedures and terms related to naming - which is the assigning of a word or phrase to a particular object or property...

. Ameliella appears to have some similarity with the lichen genus Miriquidica

Miriquidica

Miriquidica is a genus of fungi in the Lecanoraceae family. According to Dictionary of the Fungi , the widespread genus contains 23 species, found predominantly in arctic-alpine regions.-Species:*Miriquidica atrofulva...

.

Description

In the genus Ameliella, the lichen thalli are small, grey-brown in color, and covered with warts or projections that resemble warts. The thalli form patches that are typically 1 to 2 cm (0.393700787401575 to 0.78740157480315 in) in diameter. There are usually copious apothecia (sexual reproductive structures) that cover much of the thallus.

The spores are transclucent (hyaline

Hyaline

The term hyaline denotes a substance with a glass-like appearance.-Histopathology:In histopathological medical usage, a hyaline substance appears glassy and pink after being stained with haematoxylin and eosin — usually it is an acellular, proteinaceous material...

), ranging in shape from narrowly ellipsoid to spindle-shaped to oblong to ellipsoid. The spore dimensions are 10–24 by 5–7 µm; the surface structure is simple, without a thick outer coat (epispore), or ornamentation.

Distribution

Based on the collection sites of the two known species, Ameliella is restricted to locations near oceans. Other than the Scottish Highlands

Scottish Highlands

The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...

, A. andreaeicola is known only from single collections in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 and Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

, while A. grisea has only been collected once in Norway. The Norway collection location (Skibotn

Skibotn

Skibotn is a village with approximately 700 inhabitants in Storfjord municipality, located on the southeastern shore of the Lyngen Fjord in the Northern Norwegian county of Troms. The village area is located at the crossroads of the highways E6 and E8...

 area in eastern Troms

Troms

or Romsa is a county in North Norway, bordering Finnmark to the northeast and Nordland in the southwest. To the south is Norrbotten Län in Sweden and further southeast is a shorter border with Lapland Province in Finland. To the west is the Norwegian Sea...

 County, central Northern Norway) is known for a rich lichen species diversity

Species diversity

Species diversity is an index that incorporates the number of species in an area and also their relative abundance. It is a more comprehensive value than species richness....

, considered unusual for such northern latitudes (68–69°N).