Ophioceraceae Klaubauf, E.G. LeBrun & Crous, Studies in Mycology 79: 85–120 (2014)

MycoBank number: MB 810201; Index Fungorum number: IF 810201; Facesoffungi number: FoF 01254; 23 species.

Saprobic on wood and other plant material, commonly isolated in aquatic habitats. Sexual morph: Ascomata perithecial, solitary or in small groups, immersed or semi-immersed, dark brown to black, globose to subglobose, coriaceous, ostiolate. Ostiole a long neck, lined with periphyses. Paraphyses numerous, septate, tapering, hypha-like, thin-walled, filamentous, branched, intermingled among asci. Peridium thick, 3-layered, blackened. Asci 8-spored, unitunicate, subcylindrical to narrowly fusoid, apedicellate, with thimble-shaped, J-, apical ring. Ascospores fasciculate, hyaline, yellowish in mass, filiform, septate. Asexual morph: Undetermined (adapted from Maharachchikumbura et al. 2016b).

Type genusOphioceras Sacc.

Notes – The monotypic family Ophioceraceae was introduced by Klaubauf et al. (2014) in Magnaporthales to accommodate Ophioceras. Ophiocera, contains species that mostly occur on wood submerged in freshwater. Previously, Ophioceras was placed in Magnaporthaceae following the phylogenetic analysis of Chen et al. (1999) and Inderbitzin & Berbee (2001). However, based on analysis of combined LSU and rpb1, Ophioceras clusters separately from Magnaporthaceae in Magnaporthales (Thongkantha et al. 2009) and hence a new monotypic family was introduced (Klaubauf et al. 2014).