Phaeotrichaceae Cain, Can. J. Bot. 34: 676 (1956).
mycoBank number:MB 81144;Index Fungorum number: IF 81144; Facesoffungi number: FoF 08131, 11 species.
Saprobic (coprophilous) in terrestrial habitats. Sexual morph: Ascomata superficial, solitary, or in small groups, dark brown to black, globose, stromatic, perithecial or cleistothecial setose. Peridium thin-walled, carbonaceous, membraneous. Hamathecium comprising tissue absent or of evanescent cellular pseudoparaphyses. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, clavate, pedicellate, in irregular or arranged in little groups or bundles and evanescent at maturity. Ascospores overlapping, dark brown to reddish brown, sometimes fragmenting, composed of terminal germ pores, with or without a sheath. Asexual morph: Unknown (adapted from Hyde et al. 2013).
Type: Phaeotrichum Cain & M.E. Barr.
Notes: Phaeotrichaceae was introduced by Cain (1956) to accommodate a single genus Phaeotrichum, characterized by dark brown, septate ascospores with terminal germ pores. Two coprophilous species were described, P. hystricinum (type species) and P. circinatum from porcupine dung and lemming dung, respectively. Cain (1956) pointed out some morphological similarities of Phaeotrichum with Trichodelitschia species based on features of the ascospores and setose ascomata. Lundqvist (1964) assigned Trichodelitschia to Phaeotrichaceae. The family comprises three genera, Echinoascotheca, Phaeotrichum and Trichodelitschia (Zhang et al. 2012; Hyde et al. 2013).