Favoritos de markb1984

on rock.
keyed out in Allen & Lendemer's Urban Lichens to Caloplaca feracissima = syn. Xanthocarpia feracissima.
if it is X. feracissima - and i do think it is - the thallus is rather more distinct than is typical. while this species has "thallus almost imperceptible, sometimes producing a dark gray to dull yellow stain", it is normally basically completely immersed.
an alternative interpretation here might be Gyalolechia flavovirescens = syn. Caloplaca flavovirescens. this species has a yellow areolate thallus and a similar apothecia. ultimately i don't think it's G. flavovirescens because that species has a thallus margin that has an abrupt edge (this specimen doesn't) and darker, more brownish-orange apothecia. so i do think it's an X. feracissima with a thallus that's a bit more visible than is typical, which it does sometimes seem to do (see: https://lichenportal.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxauthid=1&taxon=56255&clid=1048)

For some reason I recently came across the original description for this species of Taracticus, realized it was local and probably poorly sampled and that I was at perfect phenology, so I figured I’d give it a try. I hiked down the Palisades trail down near Mud Spring (the type locality, on July 16-20 1916!) and got lucky! Never really saw them perching on leaves, but I started to notice something spiral flitting around the shrubs at about shoulder/head height and did a reflex swing of the net to check it out. Imagine my surprise when I saw what I’d bagged! Got two that way. Saw probably a few more (especially up higher out of reach?), but it was sunset and I had a bruising 3 mi speed hike to get out of there (I still ended up walking by flashlight!) Between this site and my earlier (but mostly this) my phone ended up crediting me with 9.4 miles and 92 floors of climbing!

There were also Ommatius out here in this life zone.

Note that the male is much darker than the female, which isn’t really mentioned in the keys. Leg in ethanol.