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Thamnomyces chamissonis Ehrenb.

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Scientific name
Thamnomyces chamissonis
Author
Ehrenb.
Common names
 
IUCN Specialist Group
Cup-fungi, Truffles and Allies
Kingdom
Fungi
Phylum
Ascomycota
Class
Sordariomycetes
Order
Xylariales
Family
Xylariaceae
Assessment status
Published
Assessment date
2024-02-21
IUCN Red List Category
NT
Assessors
Trierveiler-Pereira, L., Costa-Rezende, D.H., Alves-Silva, G., Baltazar, J., Canêz, L., Calaça, F. & Monteiro, M.
Reviewers
Drechsler-Santos, E.R., Martins da Cunha, K. & Minter, D.

Assessment Notes

The content on this page is fetched from The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/266357535/266361555

Justification

Thamnomyces chamissonis is a saprotrophic species found growing on dead trunks (or large fallen branches). Its distribution is restricted to the now fragmented and scattered Atlantic Forest (dense ombrophilous forest), especially near coastal well preserved areas. T. chamissonis is probably more common in the subtropical areas of Atlantic Forest, a phytogeographic domain impacted for decades by deforestation through the extraction of timber, intensive land use, urban expansion, industrialization and fuelwood harvesting; as well as tourism development, mining, road infrastructure and introduction of alien species, such as Eucalyptus and Pinus spp. Only 28% of its natural coverage remains, largely composed of small forest fragments and secondary forests. The coastal Atlantic Forest coincides with the area occupied by the majority of the Brazilian population, and as a result, is considered one of Brazil’s most impacted environments, with high rates of habitat loss, especially by urban development, persisting to the present day.

The species' population is estimated to be ca. 15,000-29,000 mature individuals, restricted to one subpopulation, and as it occurs on large woody substrata, its three generation period is likely 50 years. A population decline was suspected in light of extensive loss of suitable habitat and the putative influence that habitat degradation has on species occupation in a given environment. Based on this information, it is precautionarily assumed that there has been a habitat loss of at least 25% within the past three generations (50 years) and that this also equates to a population decline of the fungus of at least 25% within this timeframe. T. chamissonis is assessed as Near Threatened A2c.

Taxonomic notes

Thamnomyces chamissonis was described in 1820. T. macrospora, described in 1920 based on Brazilian specimens collected by Möller, is a synonym (Dennis 1957). The similarity of T. chamissonis to Amazon and African members of the genus is pointed out by Dennis (1961).

Geographic range

Thamnomyces chamissonis is currently known from the Atlantic Forest, Brazil. Records from northern Brazil and other countries (Peru) are probably a misidentification of T. dendroidea (Stadler et al. 2010) or taxa unknown to science. T. chamissonis is probably more common in the subtropical areas of Atlantic Forest, since most records are from the State of Santa Catarina (seven collections). However, there are also a few scattered records from the States of Paraná (three collections), São Paulo (two collections) and Bahia (one collection) (Poroca 1986, Meijer 2006, Loguercio-Leite et al. 2009, Pereira 2011, Silva 2019, SpeciesLink 2021). One report from Minas Gerais (Chardon et al. 1940) could not be confirmed. Most records are from forest areas near the coast (no more than 30 km far away), but two collections are around 70 km from the coast.

Population and Trends

There are 13 known collections of the species deposited in fungaria. This is a species with medium to high detectability. Stromata are dark coloured, but they grow gregariously, therefore, they are not difficult to find in the field if someone is looking for wood-decomposing fungi. The species is known from 11 sites, but it is expected to be distributed along the Atlantic Forest in the dense ombrophilous forest near the coast, especially in southern and southeastern Brazil, with 250-500 additional potential sites. Its population is estimated to be ca. 15,000-29,000 mature individuals (assuming 50-60 mature individuals per site), restricted to one subpopulation, and as it occurs on large woody substrata, its three generations is likely 50 years (per Dahlberg and Mueller 2011).

The Atlantic Forest has been deforested over decades, and the remaining fragments are suffering from biomass and biodiversity erosion. The Atlantic Forest is one of the most fragmented tropical/subtropical forests in the world, and only around 28% percent of the original forest in Brazil is left, much of it in small, unconnected fragments (Rezende et al. 2018). A population decline is suspected in light of extensive loss of suitable habitat (Rezende et al. 2018) and the putative influence that habitat degradation has on species occupation in a given environment (Berglund and Jonsson 2003, Haddad et al. 2015). Based on this information, it is precautionarilyy assumed that there has been a habitat loss of at least 25% within the past three generations (50 years) and that this also equates to a population decline of the fungus of at least 25% within this timeframe.

Population Trend: decreasing


Habitat and Ecology

Thamnomyces chamissonis is a saprotrophic species and grows on dead trunks (or large fallen branches). Its distribution is restricted to the now fragmented and scattered Atlantic Forest (dense ombrophilous forest), especially near coastal well preserved areas.

Threats

The Atlantic Forest as a whole suffered for decades from deforestation through the extraction of timber, intensive land use for agriculture, urban expansion, industrialization and fuelwood harvesting; as well as tourism development, mining, road infrastructure and introduction of alien species, such as Eucalyptus and Pinus spp. Only 28% of its natural coverage remains, largely composed of small forest fragments and secondary forests (Tabarelli et al. 2010, Rezende et al. 2018).

The coastal Atlantic Forest coincides with the area occupied by the majority of the Brazilian population, and as a result, is considered one of Brazil’s most impacted environments, with high rates of habitat loss, especially by urban development, persisting to the present day.

Most records of Thamnomyces chamissonis are from the type locality, and the main threats in this area are: urban expansion; real estate speculation in coastal areas; tourism; pollution from the disposal of garbage and even effluents; deforestation and fires; vehicle traffic; and the presence of exotic plant species.

Conservation Actions

The main action needed to preserve the species is the protection of its habitat and creation of new conservation areas to harbour the probable microhabitats to which the Atlantic Forest may be restricted in the future. Also, measures must be taken to ensure that the protected Atlantic Forest areas reach a mature state.

Probably the diversity of Thamnomyces species is larger than we know, including new taxa from northern and northeastern Brazil. Two species with dendroid stroma are very similar (T. chamissonis and T. dendroidea), so careful analysis is necessary to determine the species and to confirm identification from herbarium specimens. Moreover, further studies are necessary to better understand the species' distribution, ecology and population trends.

Use and Trade

No use/trade is known.

Source and Citation

Trierveiler-Pereira, L., Costa-Rezende, D.H., Alves-Silva, G., Baltazar, J., Canêz, L., Calaça, F. & Monteiro, M. 2024. Thamnomyces chamissonis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T266357535A266361555. .Accessed on 30 October 2024

Country occurrence