Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Ramalina anceps
ramalina, Ramalina
The species is corticolous, typically draping branches and twigs throughout the transition zone. It has rarely been collected and is possibly overlooked because of its similarity to R. usnea of which this taxon may just be a chemotype. Galapagos specimens of R. anceps appear overall thinner and less contorted than specimens of R. usnea, but this variability is not a reliable diagnostic morphological character to distinguish the two taxa. Their validity as distinct species should therefore be re-assessed on the basis of material from their whole (pan-American) distribution range. Weber (1986, p. 482) already stated: ‘‘...the lines that separate these taxa are not clear to me...’’
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Fungi
Phylum
Ascomycota
Class
Lecanoromycetes
Order
Lecanorales
Family
Ramalinaceae
Genus
Ramalina
Species
anceps
Taxon category: Accepted
Origin: Native
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: A pan-American species first reported from the Galapagos by Weber (1986).
- Aptroot, A. Bungartz, F. (2007) The Lichen Genus Ramalina on the Galapagos. The Lichenologist 39: 519-542.
- Elix, J.A. McCarthy, P.M. (1998) Catalogue of the Lichens of the Smaller Pacific Islands. Bibliotheca Lichenologica 70, J. Cramer, Berlin, Stuttgart, 361pp.
- Weber, W.A. (1986) The Lichen Flora of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Mycotaxon 27: 451-497.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Ramalina anceps", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=3304. Accessed 1 November 2026.