Herpomyces periplanetae Thaxt.

Santamaria, Sergi & Pedersen, Jan, 2021, Laboulbeniomycetes (Fungi, Ascomycota) of Denmark, European Journal of Taxonomy 781, pp. 1-425 : 23

Herpomyces periplanetae Thaxt.

MB#231769

Fig. 1B

Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 38: 13 ( Thaxter 1902). –

Type: [Not designated] [Ind. loc.] “ On Periplaneta Americana Sauss. (type form), Cambridge (Mr. Bullard): Bermuda; Mus. Comp. Zoöl.”; FH .

Diagnostic features

Shield bilobate, ± symmetric, hyaline ( Fig. 1B , sh). Perithecial neck bent, terminated in a pointed, subacute lateral tip, and a distal acute tooth-like outgrowth ( Fig. 1B , arrow). [Detailed descriptions: Thaxter 1908; Majewski 1994b; De Kesel 2001; Santamaria 2003]

Distribution and hosts

As common as the other two European species; it grows on the antennae of several species of Periplaneta Burmeister, 1838 ( Blattodea , Blattidae ), usually P. americana . Reported from all continents except Oceania. Europe ( France, Italy, Spain, Belgium), Africa ( Somalia, Morocco, Bénin, D.R. Congo, Togo), Asia ( China, Japan, Bali Island, Malaysia, India, Taiwan, Korea) and America ( USA, Panama, Mexico, Bermuda Islands, Brazil, French Guiana) ( Santamaria et al. 1991; Haelewaters et al. 2021). All records from Blatta Linnaeus, 1758 or its synonym Stylopyga Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1865 should be referred to Herpomyces stylopygae Speg. (see below).

Collections examined from Denmark

On Periplaneta americana (Linnaeus, 1758) ( Blattodea Blattidae )

DENMARK – Østjylland (EJ) • Århus ; 56°9.166′ N, 10°12.502′ E; NH72; 1 Oct. 1915; E. Petersen Dry0021 ; ZMUC C-F-124035 . – Nordøstsjaelland (NEZ) • København ; 55°41.038′ N, 12°35.914′ E; UB47; 14 Nov. 1901; leg. and coll. unknown, 1224; ZMUC C-F-123751 .

On Periplaneta australasiae (Fabricius, 1775) ( Blattodea Blattidae )

DENMARK – Østjylland (EJ) • Silkeborg ; 56°10.059′ N, 9°32.930′ E; NH32; 18 Aug. 1930; E. Petersen Dry 0022; ZMUC C-F-124036 .

Remarks

First record from Denmark. Like the other two species of Herpomyces , the Danish material comes from dry collections and the specimens are not in optimal condition, although absolutely recognizable ( Fig. 1B ).

Figures

Fig. 1. Herpomyces spp. A. H. ectobiae Thaxt.; mature thallus. – B. H. periplanetae Thaxt.; mature thallus showing the distal acute tooth-like outgrowth on the perithecium (arrow), and shield (sh). – C. H. stylopygae Speg.; mature thallus showing the distal acute tooth-like outgrowth on the perithecium (arrow), and shield (sh). Scale bars: A = 50 µm; B–C = 100 µm. Photographs from slides ZMUC C-F- 124041 (A), ZMUC C-F-123751 (B), and ZMUC C-F-124039 (C).