The whitish to greenish-grey thallus surface of
Biatora pacifica is thick, rough, and crumbling, (
tartareous) with warts, and in rare instances forms
areoles that are 0.1–0.25 mm in diameter. It lacks a visible
hypothallus, as well as the vegetative propagules
isidia and
soredia. The
photobiont partner of the lichen is chlorococcoid (i.e.,
green algae with a coccoid or spherical shape), with individual algal cells measuring 5–13
μm in diameter.
Apothecia are typically abundant and occur singly on the thallus. They are usually about 0.42–0.80 mm in diameter (with an observed maximum of 1.6 mm). The disc is dark grey or olive brown, flat to slightly convex, and roughly the same level as the apothecial margin.
Asci contains eight spores and are of the
Biatora-type. The
ascospores are usually colourless and most lack a
septum (rarely, some spores have a single septum), with typical dimensions of 9.6–12.1 by 3.0 –3.5 μm.
Thin-layer chromatography revealed the presence of an unidentified
xanthone compounds in
Biatora pacifica Also, an unidentified olive-green
pigment is present in the apothecial tissue. The authors notes a resemblance to
Ivanpisutia oxneri, but that species has smaller ascospores and a different chemistry. They proposed that
Biatora pacifica is an esorediate (i.e., lacking soredia) counterpart of
Biatora pontica, although this suggestion awaits corroboration with DNA evidence. ==Habitat and distribution==