Stictographaceae D.Q. Dai & K.D. Hyde, 2018

Dai, Dong-Qin, Tang, Li-Zhou, Liu, Chao, Wang, Hai-Bo & Hyde, Kevin D., 2018, Studies on Parmulariaceae I. A phylogeny based on available sequence data; introducing Parmulariales ord. nov., and Hemigraphaceae, Melaspileellaceae and Stictographaceae fam. nov., Phytotaxa 369 (2), pp. 63-79 : 70-71

Stictographaceae D.Q. Dai & K.D. Hyde , fam. nov.

Index Fungorum number: IF554064; Facesoffungi number: FoF 03912

Lichenicolous on the thallus of lichen. Sexual morph: Ascomata solitary, scattered to clustered, superficial, cymbiform to lirelliform, or rounded, a slit-like disc, black to dark brown, with a centre ostiole opening by a slit or star-shaped fissure. Peridium thick, outer layers composed of black to dark brown, thick-walled cells of textura angularis ; inner layers composed of light brown to hyaline cells of textura angularis . Hamathecium of dense, hyaline, filamentous, septate pseudoparaphyses, unbranched or occasionally branched at upper part around the asci. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, wide clavate to subglobose, with an ocular chamber, apically rounded and short pedicellate. Ascospores 2-seriate to irregularly arranged, hyaline, becoming light brown to dark brown, ellipsoid, 1-septate, with slightly larger upper cell, with slightly narrower lower cell, smooth-walled. Asexual morph: Undetermined.

Type genus: Stictographa Mudd, Man. Brit. Lich. : 226 (1861)

Notes:— Stictographaceae is introduced here to accommodate several lichenicolous genera or with saprobic lifecycles, and is characterized by cymbiform to lirelliform, or a slit-like disc, black to dark brown ascomata, wide clavate to subglobose asci and brown, ellipsoid ascospores with a single septum. Stictographa was collected on the exclusive host Phaeographis dendritica Muell in western Europe. It is morphologically similar to Labrocarpon Etayo & Pérez-Ortega in having cymbiform ascomata opening by a long slit. However, they can be distinguished in the phylogenetic analysis ( Fig. 1 ). The monotypic genus Labrocarpon was introduced by Pérez-Ortega & Etayo (2010) and is typified by L. canariense (D. Hawksw.) . In the phylogenetic tree ( Fig 1 ), the type species of Labrocarpon clusters within Stictographaceae . Karschia Körb. was described by Körber (1865) and is typified by K. talcophila (Ach.) Körb. Barr (1979) placed Karschia in Patellariaceae Corda. Then it was transferred to Lichenotheliaceae , Lichenotheliales by Thambugala et al. (2014a) based on the morphology observed from herbarium material. Ertz & Diederich (2015) re-examined the type specimen and sequenced the type species.According to the phylogenetic analysis of Ertz & Diederich (2015), Karschia forms a single clade close to Labrocarpon , Melaspileopsis and Stictographa . Our phylogenetic tree ( Fig. 1 ) shows the same result and Karschia is phylogenetically distant from Lichenotheliales . Thus, Karschia is placed in Stictographaceae . Melaspileopsis was introduced by Ertz & Diederich (2015) and is typified by M. diplasiospora (Nyl.) Ertz & Diederich. Index Fungorum (2018) lists the current name of the type species is Melaspilea diplasiospora (Nyl.) Müll. Arg. However , the phylogenic analysis shows it does not belong to Melaspileaceae Walt. Watson , but clusters close to the clade of Stictographa ( Fig. 1 ). Melaspileopsis is therefore placed in Stictographaceae .

Type species: Stictographa lentiginosa (Lyell ex Leight.) Mudd, Man. Brit. Lich. : 226 (1861)

Figures

FIGURE 1. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree generated by RAxML (GTR+G model) based on analysis of combined LSU and SSU sequence data. ML values (>50 %) resulting from 1000 bootstrap replicates and Bayesian posterior probabilities greater than 0.80 are given at the nodes. The strain numbers are noted after the species names. The tree is rooted to Dendrographa decolorans (DUKE 0047570).