André Aptroot

André Aptroot (Heemskerk, 1961) is a Dutch mycologist and lichenologist. His primary research focus is on biodiversity, particularly tropical lichens, encompassing systematics, floristic surveys, and taxonomic reviews. A prolific researcher, he has published more than 500 scientific papers and described hundreds of new fungal and lichen species.

Career In 1993 he did his PhD at the University of Utrecht under the supervision of Robbert Gradstein (nl). His dissertation was titled "Systematic studies on pyrenocarpous lichens and related fungi". and the American Bryological and Lichenological Society.

He is a visiting professor at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul in Campo Grande, Brazil, since February 2019. In 2020, Aptroot was listed among the 100,000 most influential scientists in the world according to research published by Stanford University, which utilised citations from the Scopus database. The research highlighted scientists' impact throughout their careers and in the year 2019 specifically.

Eponymy Lecidea aptrootii is one of many species named after Aptroot. Several taxa have been named to honour Aptroot. These include the genera Aptrootia and Aptrootidea