The lichen biota of the Special Area of Conservation Rio Pentemina (Ligurian Apennines, N Italy)

Despite its restricted geographical extent, Liguria hosts avery rich lichen biota. Nevertheless, the lichenological exploration of Li-guria remains highly fragmented, both in space and time. Indeed, thereare only a handful of comprehensive lichen biota lists for specific areasof Liguria. To address this gap of knowledge and support broader bio-diversity, taxonomic, and ecological studies, we present a list of the lichenbiota of the Pentemina Valley, which we consider to be one of the mostinteresting areas in the Ligurian Apennines from a lichenological point ofview. The list includes 200 infrageneric taxa, fourteen of which are newto Liguria (e.g., Loxospora elatina). Additionally, fourteen other speciesof conservation interest have been collected (e.g., Buellia hyperbolica), while many others have been recorded after a century or more since thefirst and, in some cases, only report (e.g., Ochrolechia szatalaensis or Ve r-rucaria papillosa)