Xanthoria elegans
(Link) Th.Fr. · speciesAt a glance
Sources12 archives
Databases and archives Xanthoria elegans's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation7 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility5 960 records↗
OBISOcean Biodiversity Information System487 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI47 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics51 specimens↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinesequences↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
NPASSNat. Product Activity & Species Sourcecompounds↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Xanthoria elegans, commonly known as the elegant sunburst lichen, is a lichenized species of fungus in the genus Xanthoria, family Teloschistaceae. Recognized by its bright orange or red pigmentation, this species grows on rocks, often near bird or rodent perches. It has a circumpolar and alpine distribution. It was one of the first lichens to be used for the rock-face dating method known as lichenometry.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Habitat & environment1
Compounds documented for Xanthoria elegans across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile5 classes
Documented compounds56 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| (-)-Linalool | present | NPASS | |
| (12Z,15S,18S)-15-hydroxy-18-bromo-12,16,17-octadecatrienoic acid | present | LOTUS | |
| (1S,5R,6S,13R,21S)-5,13-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4,12,14-trioxapentacyclo[11.7.1.02,11.03,8.015,20]henicosa-2(11),3(8),9,15,17,19-hexaene-6,9,17,19,21-pentol | present | NPASS | |
| (1S,5S,6R,13R,21S)-5,13-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4,12,14-trioxapentacyclo[11.7.1.02,11.03,8.015,20]henicosa-2(11),3(8),9,15,17,19-hexaene-6,9,17,19,21-pentol | present | NPASS | |
| (2R)-2-methylbutanoic acid | present | NPASS | |
| (8S)-Mutatoxanthin | present | LOTUS | |
| (8S,9S,13S,14R)-3-hydroxy-13-methyl-7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16-octahydro-6H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-17-one | present | NPASS | |
| (R)-alpha-Terpineol | present | NPASS | |
| (R)-gamma-Decalactone | present | NPASS | |
| (S)-gamma-Octanolactone | present | NPASS |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Xanthoria elegans has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Xanthoria elegans carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type6 447 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions51 of 116 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| ASUlocation not on record | 346 |
| St. Paul, US | 299 |
| AASlocation not on record | 266 |
| AADClocation not on record | 177 |
| LDlocation not on record | 166 |
| British Antarctic Surveylocation not on record | 157 |
| Uppsala, SE | 144 |
| Chicago, US | 129 |
| Museo civico La Terra e l'Uomo di Crocetta del Montellolocation not on record | 122 |
| Université Lavallocation not on record | 117 |
| Museo Entomologico de Leonlocation not on record | 101 |
| Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung: Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseumlocation not on record | 100 |
| Bozeman, US | 95 |
| Bronx, US | 94 |
| Clocation not on record | 93 |
| Australian Antarctic Divisionlocation not on record | 75 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 67 |
| 66 | |
| Berlin, DE | 64 |
| US | 59 |
| Polar-Alpine Botanical Garden-Institutelocation not on record | 58 |
| ILLSlocation not on record | 57 |
| Vancouver, CA | 57 |
| Edmonton, CA | 39 |
| WTUlocation not on record | 38 |
| Ann Arbor, US | 38 |
| Stockholm, SE | 34 |
| GZUlocation not on record | 33 |
| Salzburg, AT | 29 |
| McWane Science Centerlocation not on record | 26 |
| Boise, US | 25 |
| University of Manitobalocation not on record | 24 |
| MeiseBGlocation not on record | 22 |
| Hobart, AU | 22 |
| Minia, EG | 19 |
| University of Gdansklocation not on record | 18 |
| Entomological Society of Latvialocation not on record | 17 |
| Mlocation not on record | 16 |
| Canberra, AU | 16 |
| PHlocation not on record | 14 |
| Christchurch, NZ | 14 |
| Santa Barbara, US | 13 |
| EL PASO, US | 12 |
| Museum of the Rockieslocation not on record | 12 |
| Albuquerque, US | 12 |
| Logan, US | 11 |
| Philadelphia, US | 11 |
| Madison, US | 10 |
| SLU Artdatabankenlocation not on record | 10 |
| BDBClocation not on record | 10 |
| CJBGlocation not on record | 9 |
| Pocatello, US | 9 |
| Barcelona, ES | 8 |
| San Sebastián, ES | 7 |
| Madrid, ES | 7 |
| BClocation not on record | 7 |
| South Kensington, GB | 7 |
| Museo civico di Storia naturale Giacomo Doria di Genova | Giacomo Doria Natural History Museum in Genoalocation not on record | 7 |
| Wellington, NZ | 7 |
| Frauenfeld, CH | 6 |
| Champaign, US | 6 |
| Museo Achille Folettolocation not on record | 6 |
| Auckland, NZ | 6 |
| Fort Hayslocation not on record | 6 |
| Acadia Universitylocation not on record | 5 |
| DOI/NPS, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Sitelocation not on record | 5 |
| València, ES | 5 |
| Clemson, US | 5 |
| MAlocation not on record | 5 |
| Weber State Universitylocation not on record | 4 |
| National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Scientific and Practical Center for Bioresourceslocation not on record | 4 |
| European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy (EDIT)location not on record | 3 |
| Catholic University of Pekinglocation not on record | 3 |
| Toronto, CA | 3 |
| FLASlocation not on record | 3 |
| Wlocation not on record | 3 |
| Garðabær, IS | 3 |
| DClocation not on record | 2 |
| Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiejlocation not on record | 2 |
| Kenai National Wildlife Refugelocation not on record | 2 |
| Helsinki, FI | 2 |
| Royal Ontario Museumlocation not on record | 2 |
| University of Hamburglocation not on record | 2 |
| DOI/FWS, Kenai National Wildlife Refugelocation not on record | 2 |
| Victoria, CA | 2 |
| University of Oslo, Natural History Museumlocation not on record | 2 |
| Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record | 2 |
| San Diego, US | 2 |
| BG-NMNHSlocation not on record | 2 |
| Institute of the Industrial Ecology Problems of the North of Kola Science Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.location not on record | 2 |
| Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratorylocation not on record | 1 |
| AUAlocation not on record | 1 |
| 中国极地研究中心location not on record | 1 |
| National Biodiversity Institute, Costa Ricalocation not on record | 1 |
| DOI/NPS, Colonial National Historical Parklocation not on record | 1 |
| Winterthur, CH | 1 |
| UoB-IBlocation not on record | 1 |
| Lincoln, US | 1 |
| Yerevan, AM | 1 |
| Durham, US | 1 |
| VALElocation not on record | 1 |
| Umeå Universitylocation not on record | 1 |
| Burlington, US | 1 |
| MNHWlocation not on record | 1 |
| Museo di Storia Naturale di Venezia Giancarlo Ligabue | Natural History Museum of Venice Giancarlo Ligabuelocation not on record | 1 |
| Arcata, US | 1 |
| John T. Waterhouse Herbariumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Department of Plant Resources, National Herbarium and Plant Laboratorieslocation not on record | 1 |
| US | 1 |
| Uniwersytet Wrocławskilocation not on record | 1 |
| Edinburgh, GB | 1 |
| University of Western Ontariolocation not on record | 1 |
| Servico de Microbiologia e Imunologialocation not on record | 1 |
| Sion, CH | 1 |
| College Park, US | 1 |
| Brisbane, AU | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Xanthoria elegans was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.