Atractosporaceae H. Zhang, K.D. Hyde & Maharachch., Fungal Divers. 85: 88 (2017)
MycoBank number: MB 553757; Index Fungorum number: IF 553757; Facesoffungi number: FoF 03334; 7 species.
Saprobic on submerged deciduous wood. Sexual morph: Ascomata solitary or aggregated in small groups, immersed or semi-immersed to superficial, astromatic, subglobose to conical, dark brown to black, with a lateral neck, often lying horizontally on the substrate surface. Ostiole periphysate. Peridium leathery to fragile, two-layered. Paraphyses abundant, persistent, cylindrical. Asci 8-spored, unitunicate, pedicellate, apically rounded or obtuse, with a J-, relatively small, apical ring. Ascospores uniseriate, hyaline, fusiform, aseptate or transversely septate, smooth or ornamented. Asexual morph: Undetermined (adapted from Zhang et al. 2017a).
Type genus – Atractospora Réblová & J. Fourn.
Notes – Atractosporaceae was introduced in a new order Atractosporales by Zhang et al. (2017a) with two genera i.e. Atractospora and Rubellisphaeria. Although Aquaticola hongkongensis also nested in Atractosporaceae (Zhang et al. 2017a), it has never been validly published (Ranghoo et al. 1999). This species needs to be recollected and characterized. This family represents a distinct group of freshwater Sordariomycetes, which is strongly supported by its stem age, ca 98 MYA in the MCC tree (Hyde et al. 2017a). Atractosporaceae is similar to Pseudoproboscisporaceae in the ascomata often lying parallel to the host surface. However, the ascospores of Atractosporaceae lack appendages, unlike in Conlariaceae and Pseudoproboscisporaceae which have appendages at one or both ends. We illustrate Atractospora thailandensis.
Genera