Fissurina nicobarensis

Fissurina nicobarensis was formally described in 2012 by Bharati Sharma, Pradnya Khadilkar and Urmila Makhija as part of their revision of Indian Graphidaceae. The holotype, collected on 2 January 1987 between Campbell Bay and Lawful Bay on Great Nicobar Island, is housed in the Ajrekar Mycological Herbarium (AMH). The specific epithet nicobarensis refers to the Nicobar Islands where the lichen was discovered. ==Description==

The lichen's body (thallus) is a yellowish-brown, glossy crust dotted with small warts. Rising from this surface are many branched, slit-like fruiting bodies called (a type of ascocarp); each lirella is 1–10 mm long, slightly emergent, and belongs to the globulifica-type, characterised by semi-emergent, often branched lirellae and a thin, pale, non-carbonised exciple that is overlaid by the . The lirellae's wall () is thin, pale orange-brown and lacks the black layer found in some relatives. Inside, a clear hymenium (the spore-producing layer) stands 62–87 micrometres (μm) tall. Each ascus contains eight colourless ascospores that are submuriform—divided by several cross-walls and one or two longitudinal walls, giving a brick-like appearance—and measure 10–15 μm long by 6–7 μm wide. Every spore is wrapped in a thin gelatinous . No lichen secondary metabolites were detected with standard spot tests or thin-layer chromatography. ==Habitat and distribution==

The species is known to occur only on Great Nicobar Island in the southern Nicobar group (India). It inhabits humid lowland rainforest, growing on the bark of living trees in shaded, wet conditions. ==References==