I'm Lichen this Car Door [60 Second Specimens]

Exciting discoveries can be found in the most unremarkable of places… like, on this rusty car door, for example. 

Field Museum scientists and their collaborators came across this 1984 Ford Bronco parked on the side of the road in Puerto Rico during a research expedition. They were looking for lichens: plant-like organisms that are comprised of a symbiotic relationship between an algae, and a fungus. After trying to figure out how to get the entire vehicle back to the Field in Chicago, they settled on taking the door. Today, we're still learning new things about the lichens that call this rusty door home. 

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