Alloconiothyrium aptrootii Verkley et al. Persoonia, 32: 33 (2014)
Index Fungorum number: IF 800757; Facesoffungi number: FoF 00029
Saprobic in terrestrial environments. Asexual morph: Conidiomata 300–450 μm diam, pycnidial and with a single cavity, or eustromatic and consisting of complexes reaching 1 mm diam, with several cavities, the outer surface black, glabrous or covered by grey mycelium. Conidiomatal wall composed of an outer layer of brown, thick-walled textura angularis and an inner layer of hyaline, thick-walled textura angularis globulosa, the outer surface sometimes covered by a diffuse web of brown hyphae. Conidiogenous cells 4–9 × 3–4 μm, discrete, often positioned on clumps of cells that protrude into the cavity, broadly ampulliform, holoblastic, annellidic, often with an elongated neck showing several distinct percurrent proliferation. Conidia 3–4(–5) × 2–3(–3.5) μm, globose to irregularly ellipsoid, non-septate, initially hyaline, after secession olivaceous-brown, mature conidial wall orange-brown, the outer surface verruculose giving the conidium an irregular outline, with 1 large oil-droplet 1–1.5 μm diam, Sexual morph: unknown. (Verkley et al. 2014)
Notes – Alloconiothyrium was introduced by Verkley et al. (2014) and typified by A. aptrootii to accommodate Coniothyrium-like species scattered in Montagnulaceae. Alloconiothyrium aptrootii is known from a soil sample collected in Papua New Guinea, and all other Coniothyrium-like taxa studied in Verkley et al. (2014) were relatively distantly related. The annellidic conidiogenous cells and the verruculose conidia resemble Coniothyrium palmarum, the type species of the genus, but that species is characterized by 2-celled conidia and is also genetically distinct, and belongs to the Leptosphaeriaceae (de Gruyter et al. 2009). In our phylogeny, Alloconiothyrium forms a robust clade sister to the Kalmusia clade. Thus based on morphology coupled with DNA data, we confirm that this genus is well-resolved and should be classified under Montagnulaceae.