We collected this arctic-alpine species at 3160 m in the Aladaglar National Park. Thallus endolithic. Ascomata apothecia, immersed in pits of the calcareous rock, black, ~0.5 mm diam. Epiphymenium blue-greenish, hypothecium dark brown, hymenium ~40-50 μm tall, true exciple well-developed. Ascospores colourless, simple, 8-10 X 4-5 μm. The ascospores of the Turkish specimen are a little shorter and narrower than given for this species by Poelt & Vezda (1981; 10-15 X 5-7 μm), and the measurements given by Brodo et al. (2001) for North American material are much longer and wider (13-28 X 7-14 μm). However, the Turkish measurements are within the range given by Hertel (1977; 8.5-14 X 4.5-7.5 μm).
Melanolecia transitoria is rare in alpine and snow belts of the Alps (Poelt & Vezda 1981), and also known from China (Hertel 1977) and North America (Brodo et al. 2001).