Neocucurbitaria
Neocucurbitaria Wanas., E.B.G. Jones & K.D. Hyde, in Wanasinghe, Phookamsak, Jeewon, Li, Hyde, Jones, Camporesi & Promputtha, Mycosphere 8(3): 408 (2017)
Index Fungorum number: IF 552832 Facesoffungi number: FoF 02902, 22 morphological species (Species Fungorum 2021), 22 species with molecular data.
Saprobic on dicotyledons, trees and shrubs in terrestrial habitat or parasitic on human skin. Sexual morph: Ascomata black, superficial to semi-immersed, confluent, gregarious, sometimes scattered beneath the host periderm or on decorticated wood, fully or partly erumpent, globose, uniloculate, with an ostiole. Ostiole central, slightly sunken, short and broad papillate, inconspicuous at the surface, black, smooth, filled with hyaline periphyses. Peridium comprising 6– 10 layers, outer most layer heavily pigmented, thin-walled, comprising blackish to dark brown amorphous layer, middle layer heavily pigmented, thick-walled, comprising blackish to dark brown loosely packed cells of textura angularis, inner layer composed 3–4 layers, reddish-brown to hyaline, cells towards the inside comprising lighter, flattened, thick-walled cells of textura angularis. Hamathecium comprising numerous, filamentous, branched, septate pseudoparaphyses. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindrical, short-pedicellate, apex rounded with a minute ocular chamber. Ascospores overlapping uniseriate, muriform, mostly ellipsoidal, 6−8 transverse septa, with a longitudinal septum, deeply constricted at the middle septum, slightly constricted at remaining septa, initially hyaline, becoming pale brown at maturity, symmetrical, slightly paler ends, conical and narrowly rounded at the ends. Asexual morph: Coelomycetous. Conidiomata pycnidial, solitary to confluent, globose to subglobose, papillate ostiolate. Ostiole single, central, circular. Setae abundant around the ostiole, erect, dark brown to black, thick-walled. Conidiogenous cell doliiform to cylindrical, septate, hyaline. Conidia hyaline, aseptate, cylindrical/ellipsoidal, smooth-walled (Adapted from Sutton 1980; Wanasinghe et al. 2017).
Type species: Neocucurbitaria unguis-hominis (Punith. & M.P. English) Wanas., E.B.G. Jones & K.D. Hyde
Notes: Neocucurbitaria was introduced by Wanasinghe et al. (2017) with N. unguis-hominis as type species. Neocucurbitaria was erected to accommodate Neocucurbitaria acerina, Pyrenochaeta quercina and P. unguis-hominis. Neocucurbitaria morphologically resembles Cucurbitaria in having semi-immersed, globose ascomata with a central ostiole, short-pedicellate asci with a minute ocular chamber and overlapping uniseriate, pale brown, muriform ascospores. Neocucurbitaria differs from Cucurbitaria in having solitary ascomata, ostiole with hyaline periphyses, smaller asci while Cucurbitaria have gregarious ascomata, ostiole without periphyses, larger asci and larger ascospores with more than a 1-longitudinal septum. Neocucurbitaria is a distinct and well-supported genus both morphologically and phylogenetically in Cucurbitariaceae
Recent News
Recent paper to be publishedRecent Genus
NeomedicopsisBoeremia
Gangamyces
Recent Species
Leveillina arduinaeEuryachora sedi
Didymellina iridis
