Thelenella lateralis is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), crustose lichen in the family Thelenellaceae.

[2] The type specimen of Thelenella lateralis was collected from Parque da Cidade Governador José Rollemberg Leite in Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil, at an elevation of about 75 m. The thallus is thin, metallic grey, and lacks pseudocyphellae (tiny pores on the surface) and a prothallus (a border around the thallus).

The ascomata (fruiting bodies) are immersed in the bark and pyriform (pear-shaped), measuring 0.4–0.55 mm in diameter.

The asci have an ocular chamber, and the ascospores are long, ellipsoid to fusiform (spindle-shaped), hyaline (translucent), and irregularly arranged in two rows.

[2] Thelenella lateralis grows on smooth bark in remnants of Atlantic rainforest and is currently only known from Brazil.