Colospora Miettinen & Spirin

MycoBank number: MB813992 Facesoffungi number: FoF00994

Etymology: Colus (Lat.), distaff, refers to the shape of spores.

Basidiocarps resupinate, minutely odontioid, corticioid on dead wood. Hyphal system dimitic throughout, clamps present, short-branched dendrohyphidia common, spines sterile towards the tip. Basidiospores large, thinwalled, biapiculate.

Type species: Colospora andalasii Miettinen & Spirin

Other species: Colospora citrispora (Boidin & Lanquetin) Miettinencomb.nov.; Basionym Epithele citrispora Boidin& Lanquetin, Mycotaxon 16: 467, (1983); MycoBank number MB 813996.

Notes: This genus contains two Epithele-like fungi with a dimitic hyphal structure and biapiculate spores. The type species of Epithele (E. typhae) and Skeletohydnum (S. nikau), the two existing genus names for Epithele-like fungi, are not particularly closely related. Epithele typhae (Pers.) Pat. is a monomitic species with smooth, fusiform spores. Skeletohydnum nikau (G. Cunn.) Jülich also has smooth, fusiform spores, which are thick-walled, and skeletal hyphae are restricted in its spines making the basidiocarps more fragile than in Colospora (Boidin and Lanquetin 1983; Nakasone 2013). Colospora belongs to the core polyporoid clade (Polyporaceae) of the Polyporales (Binder et al. 2013). Closest relatives are found among the polypore genera Porogramme, Tinctoporellus, Theleporus and the corticioid genus Erythromyces. Those genera contain species with smaller, thin-walled spores. Of these, the light-coloured Theleporus spp. are most similar morphologically, but their spores and hymenial cells are of much smaller dimensions. Also Diplomitoporus venezuelicus Ryvarden & Iturraga is closely related to Colospora. The species is morphologically similar to Theleporus spp. (Ryvarden and Johansen 1980; Zhou and Dai 2012). Ryvarden and Iturriaga (2003) did not report dendrohyphidia or branching skeletal hyphae in the type of D. venezuelicus, but we confirm that these characters are present. The best placement of D.venezuelicus is for the time being in Theleporus venezuelicus (Ryvarden & Iturraga) Miettinen, comb.nov.;basionym Diplomitoporus venezuelicus Ryvarden & Iturraga, Mycologia 95:1069, 2003; MycoBank number: MB 813995.

Species