Antoniomyces
Antoniomyces Inácio, in Inacio et al., Mycol. Progr. 11(1): 2 (2012).
Index Fungorum number: IF 563246; Facesoffungi number: FoF 02299, 1 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2022), no molecular data available.
Saprobic on leaves. Sexual morph: External hyphae growing out from ascomata or stromatic crusts, brown, septate, sinuous, smooth, with long or short lateral branches often anastomosing with adjacent hyphae of the same colony, without appressoria. Internal stroma corresponding to an internal layer underneath the epidermis, partially effuse, later penetrating through the mesophyll, eventually connecting the adaxial structures to an ascoma on the abaxial side of the leaf, composed of colorless to pale, branched, sinuous, smooth hyphae, stromatic columns or “pegs” connecting the internal stroma to the superficial stromatic crust or ascoma, brown to black, formed by cells with textura angularis. Ascomata superficial, scattered, immersed in and merging with the stromatic crusts, elongate, confluent, dark-brown to black, initially irregular, becoming elliptical to boat-shaped, difficult to measure individually, opening by longitudinal slits. Upper peridium wall is continuous with the stromatic crust, dark, dense, composed of irregular, prismatic cells viewed in horizontal sections these cells form a radiating textura prismatica at the laciniate edge of the ascoma or the stromatic crust. Lower wall comprising a thin layer of hyphae in strands. Locule composed of a thin basal cushion on the surface of the plant cuticle, with asci and interascal tissue above. Asci variable in shape when immature, slightly forked at the base, cylindric-clavate to clavate or broad-clavate, thin-walled when immature becoming thick-walled with a subapical chamber visible before spore delimitation. Mature asci cylindric-clavate to clavate, thick-walled mainly in the upper part, not changing color in IKI, with mostly 8, rarely 6 spores arranged in one, two rows or sometimes in a cluster. Asci after spore release collapsed, with a large apical crack in the outer wall, and with the inner wall extending like a “tongue” through the crack; the extended inner wall sometimes with a tattered or broken apex. Ascospores cylindric-ellipsoidal or ellipsoidal to narrowly ovoid,uniseptate, slightly narrowed at the septum, the lower cell slightly attenuated, the upper cell sometimes attenuated, initially colorless with a mucilaginous sheath, becoming light brown to brown, verrucose, the mucilaginous sheath degenerating at maturity. Interascal tissue formed by densely packed pseudoparaphyses which are filiform, slightly swollen at tips, mostly hyaline, sometimes with brown to dark brown external material adhering to the tips which are smooth to slightly verrucose, pseudoparaphyses septate, sometimes branched near the septa, branches arising in acute angles, surrounded by gelatinous material. The gelatinous interascal tissue swells, the lobes of the stromatic crust are separated upon wetting the ascoma, and the hymenium is exposed, perhaps to release the ascospores under humid environmental conditions. Asexual morph: Coelomycetous (adapted from Inácio et al. 2012).
Type species: Antoniomyces loranthicola Inácio
Notes: Antoniomyces was previously placed in Parmulariaceae (Inácio et al. 2012) and this was followed by Wijayawardene et al. (2017). Antoniomyces is unique in having a deep internal stroma that clearly differs from the stromata of Parmulariaceae. Molecular data is lacking. Antoniomyces is currently placed in Parmulariaceae but this placement is doubtful. Fresh specimen with DNA sequence data is needed to confirm this systematic position.
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