Coniocessiaceae Asgari & Zare, Mycol. Progr. 10(2): 195 (2011)
MycoBank number: MB 518425; Index Fungorum number: IF 518425; Facesoffungi number: FoF 00671; 6 species.
Saprobic on grasses, soil and dung. Sexual morph: Ascomata less than 200 μm diam, superficial, subglobose to pyriform, glabrous or pilose, ostiolate, with hypha-like ostiole. Peridium membranaceous, thin, translucent or sometimes opaque, outer layer comprising pale-brown to dark brown with cells of textura intricata. Paraphyses abundant or few, septate, tapering, hyphae-like, thin-walled, filamentous, branched. Asci 4–spored, unitunicate, cylindrical to subcylindrical, pedicellate, with or without an apical ring. Ascospores uniseriate, dark brown to black, ellipsoidal, with narrowly rounded ends, smooth-walled, 1-celled, with or without germ-slit, if present full length, straight. Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous, nodulisporium-like: Conidiophores micronematous to macronematous, simple or branched, smooth-walled or verrucose, hyaline. Conidiogenous cells integrated, terminal, discrete, elongating sympodially, with persistent conspicuous denticles, hyaline. Conidia globose, subglobose to pyriform, smooth-walled or verruculose, with rounded apex, hyaline, attenuated and truncated base and distinct projection at the point of attachment to the conidiogenous cells (adapted from Maharachchimbura et al. 2016b).
Type genus – Coniocessia Dania García, Stchigel, D. Hawksw. & Guarro
Notes – Coniocessiaceae was established by Asgari & Zare (2011) to accommodate four species of Coniocessia (C. anandra, C. cruciformis, C. maxima, C. minima) with the species C. nodulisporioides. The family was placed in Xylariales based on morphology and molecular analyses, and a hyaline asexual morph with polyblastic conidiogenesis (nodulisporium-like). Phylogenetic analysis of Coniocessia species showed a distinct lineage close to Diatrypaceae, which confirmed it as a family in Xylariales (Asgari & Zare 2011, Maharachchikumbura et al. 2016b).
Genera