Preussia alpina N. Lundq. & Kruys, 2015

Kruys, Åsa, 2015, New species of Preussia with 8 - celled ascospores (Sporormiaceae, Pleosporales, Ascomycota), Phytotaxa 234 (2), pp. 143-150 : 144-145

Preussia alpina N. Lundq. & Kruys , sp. nov. ( Fig. 1 )

MycoBank no.: MB811845

Type: — SWEDEN. Härjedalen: Storsjö par., Mt. Torkilstöten, above the tree-line, on grouse dung ( Lagopus ) in moist chamber, Uppsala, 18 July 1975, Nils Lundqvist 9961-c, F-529759 (holotype UPS!).

Pseudothecia scattered, immersed, 320–350 diam × 380–390 μm high, subglobose, ostiolate, dark brown to black, opaque. Neck short, papilliform, smooth, bare, black. Peridium pseudoparenchymatous. Pseudoparaphyses abundant, filiform, ca. 2–3.5 μm wide, septate, containing hyaline vacuoles, mixed with asci. Asci fissitunicate, clavate, eight-spored, 145–180 × 15–23 μm, with a long stalk. Ascospores eight-celled, fusiform, (40–) 45–52 × 6–7 μm, hyaline to light brown in early stages, becoming dark brown when mature, cells unequal in size, apical cell elongated, narrowing toward the apex, second cell from the upper end ± trapezoid, third cell the broadest, third and fourth cell broader than long, fifth cell ± square, sixth to eight cell longer than broad, basal cell rounded at apex, septa transverse, germ slits indistinct, oblique, gelatinous sheath hyaline, narrow.

Etymology: —the species epithet refers to its distribution in northern, mountain areas of Scandinavia.

Habitat and distribution: —on dung of Lagopus in the northern, mountain areas of Scandinavia.

Specimens examined: — FINLAND. Lapponia inarensis: Utsjoki par., Utsjoki (NNE of the church), on grouse dung in moist chamber, Uppsala, 26 July 1966, Nils Lundqvist 4925-e, F-529762 ( UPS!) ; NORWAY. Finnmark: Tana, Polmak par., Skipagurra ( Skipaskaret ), SW slope of Mt. Gielkaioaivve , on grouse dung in moist chamber, Uppsala, 2 August 1966, Nils Lundqvist 5159-d, F-529758 ( UPS!) ; Finnmark: Vadsø, Varanger Peninsula, Nord-Varanger par., S of Svanevatnet (= c. 4 km N of Vadsø), elevation 130–160 m, on grouse dung in moist chamber, Uppsala, 27 July 1966, Nils Lundqvist 4964-c, F-529761 ( UPS!) ; Sør-Trøndelag: 10 km SSW of Brekken, on a mountain W of Feragen , on grouse dung ( Lagopus ) in moist chamber, Uppsala, 16 July 1975, Nils Lundqvist 9940-c, F-529764 ( UPS!) ; SWEDEN. Jämtland: Åre par., Snasahögarna Mts., Mt. Storsnasen , elevation 1400 m, on dung of Lagopus sp. in moist chamber, Uppsala, 27 August 1967, Kerstin Holm & Lennart Holm, F-529760 ( UPS!) .

Taxonomic remarks: — P. alpina resembles P. octomera in the shape of the ascoma with a short neck, as well as the long-stalked asci. Both species have eight-celled ascospores with a largest third cell, but the ascospores of P. alpina are longer and narrower than those of P. octomera , and the shape of the ascospore cells differs. The middle ascospore cells of P. octomera are clearly broader than long, which is not the case in P. alpina .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Preussia alpina A–B. ascomata, C. detail of exoperidium, D. immature ascus, E. ascus, F–G. pseudoparaphyses, H–O. ascospores. A–B, F–H, M. Coll. F-529764 (UPS), C, E, L. Coll. F-529759 (UPS), D, J. Coll. F-529761 (UPS), I. Coll. F-529762 (UPS), K. Coll. F-529758 (UPS), N–O. Coll. F-529760 (UPS). Scale bars: A–B=100 μm, C=10 μm, D–E=20 μm, F–O=10 μm.