Amniculicolaceae Y. Zhang ter, C.L. Schoch, J. Fourn., Crous & K.D. Hyde, Stud. Mycol. 64: 95 (2009).
MycoBank number: MB 515469; Index Fungorum number: IF 515469; Facesoffungi number: FoF 08153, 18 species.
Saprobic in freshwater and terrestrial habitats. Sexual morph: Ascomata solitary, scattered or in small groups, erumpent, immersed or nearly superficial, globose, subglobose to lenticular, with rough black surface, usually staining the woody substrate shades of purple, ostiolate. Ostiole with elongate apex and ostiolar canal filled with hyaline cells. Peridium two-layered, outer layer of small heavily pigmented thick-walled cells of textura angularis, inner layer of hyaline thin-walled cells of textura angularis. Hamathecium comprising numerous, hyaline, septate, narrow, trabeculate, pseudoparaphyses, embedded in a gel matrix. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, long cylindrical to clavate, short-pedicellate, apially truncate, with an ocular chamber. Ascospores 1–2-seriate, fusiform or narrowly fusiform, hyaline, reddish-brown or pale, 1- to multi-septate, or muriform, constricted at the median septum, generally surrounded by an irregular, hyaline, gelatinous sheath. Asexual morph: Coelomycetous or hyphomycetous, closely related to Anguillospora longissimi, Murispora hawksworthii, Spirosphaera cupreorufescens, Repetophragma ontariense and Vargamyces aquaticus (Zhang et al. 2008b, 2012b, Wanasinghe et al. 2015, Hernández -Restrepo et al. 2017).
Type – Amniculicola Y. Zhang & K.D. Hyde.
Notes – Amniculicolaceae is a well-supported monophyletic family in Pleosporales (Wanasinghe et al. 2015, Li et al. 2016a). Zhang et al. (2009c) accommodated Amniculicola, Murispora and Neomassariosphaeria in Amniculicolaceae. These genera have a saprobic lifestyle on woody plants from various freshwater habitats in Europe. Hyde et al. (2013) provided a comprehensive transcript to this family with notes and a key to genera of Amniculicolaceae. Wanasinghe et al. (2015) added six new species to Murispora and provided a backbone tree to the family. Ariyawansa et al. (2015a) and Hernandez-Restrepo et al. (2017) introduced two new genera Pseudomassariosphaeria and Vargamyces, respectively. The asexual morphs of Amniculicolaceae are poorly known. Wanasinghe et al. (2015) confirmed that Murispora has a phoma-like coelomycetous asexual morph (M. hawksworthii). Phylogenies indicate that the three Amniculicola species cluster together with putatively named asexual species Anguillospora longissima, Spirosphaera cupreorufescens and Repetophragma ontariense (Zhang et al. 2009c, Seifert et al. 2011, Hyde et al. 2013, Wanasinghe et al. 2015). Repetophragma is characterized by macronematous conidiophores with several annellations which are produced by a few, or numerous, enteroblastic, percurrent proliferations of the conidiogenous cells, and euseptate conidia with a conicotruncate basal cell, which secedes schizolytically (Castañeda-Ruiz et al. 2011). Shenoy et al. (2006) demonstrated that some Repetophragma species were clearly polyphyletic, as they cluster in different families and orders of Sordariomycetes and Dothideomycetes. Based on morphological and genetic similarity Hernandez-Restrepo et al. (2017) synonymized R. ontariense under Vargamyces aquaticus. Spirosphaera floriformis (Helotiales) Leotiomycetes and S. cupreorufescens have features considered typical of the genus, including a spirally coiled, interwoven conidial filament, the cells of which give rise to one daughter filament, which is also coiled and interwoven, resulting in a large, irregular, globose conidium (Hennebert 1968). The main distinctive feature of S. cupreorufescens is the conspicuous copper brown conidia, which are rather irregular and loose (Voglmayr 2004). The sexual morph of Anguillospora longissima has been mentioned as an undescribed species of ‘Massarina’ (Willoughby & Archer 1973, Sivanesan 1984, Webster 1992), and agrees with the diagnostic characters of Amniculicola (Zhang et al. 2008b, 2009c). The characters are typical of Amniculicola parva, and therefore, the sexual morph of Anguillospora longissima may be related to Amniculicola parva (Hyde et al. 2013). Rossman et al. (2016) proposed to synonymize Anguillospora longissimi under Amniculicola.