Atheliella – Facesoffungi number: FoF 14802

Atheliella S.L. Liu & L.W. Zhou, gen. nov.

Index Fungorum number: IF 901056; Mycobank number: MB 901056; Facesoffungi number: FoF 14802;

Etymology – Atheliella (Lat.) referring to the close relationship with Athelia.

Diagnosis – Characterized by the pellicular basidiomes with cracked and peeped out, brownish subiculum, loosely intertwined subicular hyphae, the absence of cystidia, and ellipsoid basidiospores.

Basidiomes resupinate, effused, thin, loosely adnate, soft, membranous. Hymenophore smooth, continuous, whitish. Subiculum cracked, peeped out brownish. Hyphal system monomitic; generative hyphae with clamp connections. Cystidia absent. Basidia clavate, with four sterigmata. Basidiospores ellipsoid, hyaline, thin-walled, smooth, IKI–, CB–. On wood.

Type species – Atheliella conifericola S.L. Liu & L.W. Zhou.

Notes – Atheliella falls into the Atheliales, but is separated from any known families and genera (Fig. 1). The family position of this genus needs to be further clarified. Atheliella seems to be morphologically related to members of Atheliaceae; however, Atheliella is distinct by the combination of brownish subiculum and ellipsoid basidiospores (Eriksson and Ryvarden 1973; Bernicchia and Gorjón 2010).

Species