Paragaeumannomyces Matsush., Matsush. Mycol. Mem. 10: 156. (2003) [2001]. Emend. Reblova & A. N. Miller.

Reblova, Martina, Nekvindova, Jana, Fournier, Jacques & Miller, Andrew N., 2020, Delimitation, new species and teleomorph-anamorph relationships in Codinaea, Dendrophoma, Paragaeumannomyces and Striatosphaeria (Chaetosphaeriaceae), MycoKeys 74, pp. 17-74 : 17

Paragaeumannomyces Matsush., Matsush. Mycol. Mem. 10: 156. (2003) [2001]. Emend. Reblova & A. N. Miller.

Type species.

Paragaeumannomyces sphaerocellularis Matsush., Mycol. Mem. 10: 156. (2003) [2001].

Description.

Teleomorph: Ascomata perithecial, non-stromatic, superficial, subglobose to conical, solitary, in small groups or aggregated, sometimes collapsing laterally upon drying, ranging from white, yellow-white, light fawn-grey, ginger-brown, reddish-brown, russet to dark brown, papillate, glabrous or setose, setae dark brown, acute, opaque, scattered over entire ascoma and/or clustered around the ostiole, centrum sometimes pink to pale red. Ostiole periphysate. Ascomatal wall three-layered; outer layer composed of thin-walled, globose, subglobose to polyhedral cells, sometimes containing pale purple pigment when fresh; middle layer composed of brick-like, dark brown cells with opaque walls; inner layer of flattened, thin-walled, subhyaline cells. Paraphyses persistent, branching, tapering. Asci unitunicate, 8-spored, cylindrical-fusiform, stipitate, apex with a non-amyloid apical annulus. Ascospores asymmetrical, cylindrical-filiform, slightly tapering towards the basal end, multiseptate, hyaline, occasionally light pink, with negative or positive dextrinoid reaction in Melzer’s reagent. Synanamorphs: Craspedodidymum -like. Conidiophores mononematous, semi-macronematous to micronematous, brown, septate, unbranched or reduced to single conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells phialidic, obclavate or broadly lageniform, brown, with an apical opening; collarettes flared or cup-shaped. Conidia globose, subglobose, subangular to triangular, unicellular, hyaline, with setulae. Chloridium -like. Conidiophores mononematous, macronematous, brown, septate, unbranched. Conidiogenous cells phialidic, cylindrical, subhyaline, elongating percurrently, with an apical opening; collarette indistinct or flared. Conidia globose, ovoid to clavate, unicellular, hyaline, non-setulate, accumulating in slimy droplets. [Characteristics of the synanamorphs adopted from Huhndorf and Fernández (2005)].

Notes.

The holotype of P. sphaerocellularis (Japan, Schimizu-cho, Wakayama Pref., on decaying twig of unknown broadleaf tree, Apr. 2000, MFC-21077), the type species of Paragaeumannomyces ( Matsushima 2003), was not available to us. A comparison of its protologue with our specimens and descriptions of other scolecosporous species of Chaetosphaeria ( Carroll and Munk 1964; Huhndorf and Fernández 2005; Atkinson et al. 2007; Perera et al. 2016), combined with phylogenetic analysis of the ITS-28S sequences of 35 isolates, provided sufficient evidence to consider them congeneric. Paragaeumannomyces is proposed as the correct name for this morphologically and phylogenetically well-delimited group of chaetosphaeriaceous fungi. The width of the ascus is sometimes variable even within a single collection depending on the arrangement of ascospores in the sporiferous part, whether they are 2-3-seriate, 4-seriate end-to-end or in a fascicle.

Members of Paragaeumannomyces display a wide geographical distribution pattern; they have a predominantly pantropical distribution in Central America and Asia but were also encountered in the subtropical and temperate climate zones of Europe, Japan, New Zealand and North America.