Chaenotheca Chaenotricha Coniocybe Sclerophora The Coniocybaceae are the sole family of lichen-forming fungi in the Coniocybales, which itself is the only order in the class Coniocybomycetes.

[2] Both the order and the class were proposed by Maria Prieto and Mats Wedin in 2013 after molecular phylogenetics analysis of various calicioid lichens showed that the Coniocybaceae represented an early diverging lineage in the inoperculate ascomycetes.

[3] Coniocybomycetes lichens form symbiotic relationships with various types of green algae, including Dictyochloropsis, Stichococcus, Trentepohlia, and members of the Trebouxioid group.

These structures have a spherical to cone-shaped head (capitulum) and contain a powdery mass of spores called a mazaedium, which can range from brown to pale in colour.

[3] The order is characterised by the presence of specific chemical compounds, including derivatives of pulvinic and vulpinic acids that appear as a frosting-like coating (pruina) or within the lichen body (thallus).