Aulographaceae Luttrell ex P.M. Kirk et al., in Kirk et al., Ainsworth & Bisby’s Dictionary of the Fungi, Edn 9 (Wallingford): ix (2001).
MycoBank number: MB 80503; Index Fungorum number: IF 80503; Facesoffungi numbers: FoF 06201, 50 species.
Saprobic on fallen leaves. Mycelium sparse, not radially arranged. Sexual morph: Ascomata forming as small black dots on host surfaces, solitary or clustered, nearly superficial, easily removed or breaking from the substrate, globose when immature, becoming sub-linear or v-shaped at maturity, rounded, carbonaceous, dark brown to black, absence of ostiole at the maturity, with slit-like opening. Hamathecium comprising septate, anastomosing and branched, trabeculate pseudoparaphyses, embedded in a gelatinous matrix with asci. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, oval to ellipsoid, apex thickened, short pedicellate or lacking, and with a wide indistinct ocular chamber. Ascospores overlapping 2–3-seriate, oblong to ovate, narrow at both ends, hyaline, 1-septate at the center, the upper cell often broader than lower cell. Asexual morph: Undertermined.
Type: Aulographum Lib.
Notes: Aulographaceae was established by Libert (1834) with the type genus Aulographum. They are characterized by superficial elongate thyriothecia, opening by longitudinal or slit-like, X- or Y-shaped dehiscence, with walls composed of dark cells that are pale at the margin of the scutellum, and lack of appressoria (Hyde et al. 2013; Hongsanan et al. 2014b). Hongsanan et al. (2014b) provided notes on this family and excluded the family from Asterinales based on morphology and phylogeny. Only a single species of Aulographum has sequence data and its placement is uncertain. Thus, more collections and sequence data are needed to clarify the taxanomic placement of this family within Dothideomycetes. Crous et al. (2019b) provided sequence data of Lembosina species and excluded this genus from Aulographaceae. Aulographaceae comprises three genera Aulographum, Echidnodes, and Lembosiella (Wijayawardana et al. 2018; Crous et al. 2019b).