Lactifluus marielleae
Lactifluus marielleae. Photo: Jaime Andrés Duque Barbosa.
Lactifluus marielleae is an ectomycorrhizal species that grows gregarious or solitary in urban forest patches soil. The species seems to have a preference for altitudes above 500 meters. Despite Lactifluus being an ectomycorrhizal genus, its symbiont is yet unknown. So far, there are just four L. marielleae collections, all of them within Atlantic Forest urban fragments in southeastern Brazil. The species is rare, as it has scarce registers despite being conspicuous and occurring in well-sampled areas. North and south Atlantic Forest regions also have great sampling efforts, and still, there are no collections of the species in these regions. Consequently, it is expected that the species is restricted to the southeastern part of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. L. marielleae is threatened by habitat fragmentation and degradation, as it occurs in protected urban forest fragments that are open to recreational activities, tourism, and further development. Still, the Atlantic Forest is highly fragmented in areas smaller than 100 ha and suffers pressures from urban areas, agriculture, logging, and livestock production. Considering the threats to the species and based on an estimated decline in population numbers in the next 50 years, L. marielleae is considered Endangered within IUCN criterium C2a(ii).
L. marielleae distribution map. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/209595360/209596485.
References:
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de Andrade Borges, M.E., Neves, M.A., Duque Barbosa, J.A., Kossmann, T., Martins da Cunha, K., Costa-Rezende, D.H., Santos Ferreira da Cruz, R.H. & Drechsler-Santos, E.R. 2021. Lactifluus marielleae. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T209595360A209596485. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T209595360A209596485.en. Accessed on 03 February 2022.
