Looking for Lichens So far, scientists have identified 20,000 species of lichen. T ere are many more we don’t know about. T at’s what makes being a lichen hunter so exciting. On every hunt, I wonder if I’ll find a lichen that no one’s ever seen before. Finding a new species is every biologist’s dream. I think about that as my team and I explore a rocky coast. We’re crawling over sharp
lava rock. Little grows on it. It’s too hot and dry. So I’m surprised to see an odd white patch. I crawl closer for a better look. It’s a lichen. It’s growing in an odd place, though. It’s hidden under a ledge. Maybe that’s why I never noticed it before. I can’t tell what species this lichen is by
looking at it. I can’t even tell what genus, or group of species, it belongs to. Usually, I can. So I pull out my hammer and chisel. I chip
off a slice of rock with the odd lichen on it. I wrap the sample in tissue and slide it into a paper bag. I note when and where I found it.
A Discovery Back in the lab, I study the sample. I look at its shape. Lichens come in three main shapes. Some look like wrinkly lettuce. Others look like little bushes. T is one is crusty. I look at it under a microscope. I think
about where it grows, too. T is usually helps me identify a lichen. I can figure out what species it belongs to. I’m puzzled, though. T is lichen is like a lot of lichens I’ve seen, but it’s not quite the same. T e lichens that look like it don’t grow on rocks. T ey grow on tropical trees. So this one is diff erent. Maybe I found something new. To be sure, I send the
sample to another scientist. He agrees. It’s a new kind of lichen. What a thrill! T is find isn’t the only thrill we’ve had in the
Galápagos. When I first came here, we knew of 229 lichens that grow here. Now we’re up to about 600, including some new to science. We didn’t know they even existed until recently.
These lichens are like a net. They catch water drops in fog.
22 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXTREME EXPLORER
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