Pseudomassariaceae Senan., Maharachch. & K.D. Hyde, Fungal Divers. 73: 132 (2015)

MycoBank number: MB 551208; Index Fungorum number: IF 551208; Facesoffungi number: FoF 00843; 42 species.

Saprobic on recently dead twigs attached to the trees, immersed below rounded, slightly elevated epidermis of the host. Sexual morph: Ascomata perithecial, scattered, solitary or aggregated, immersed, depressed globose to ellipsoid, coriaceous, black, ostiolate, papillate. Ostiolar papilla short, cylindrical, wide at the apex, periphysate. Peridium comprising strongly compressed, narrow, light to medium brown, thin-walled cells of textura angularis. Paraphyses numerous, apically narrow, basally wide, hyaline. Asci 8-spored, unitunicate, easily disintegrated when fresh, clavate to fusoid, short pedicellate, apically rounded, with J+, or J-, apical ring. Ascospores biseriate or partially uniseriate, hyaline, broadly ellipsoid, oblong or narrowly clavate, mostly apiosporous, with a rounded to subconical, small, lower cell or equally uniseptate, straight or curved, thick-walled, smooth-walled. Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous. Setae erect, dark brown, straight to flexuous, arising from superficial hyphae, branched at base, subcylindrical, tapering to obtuse apex, 3–7-septate, basal cell slightly swollen. Conidiophores subcylindrical to setiform, with radially lobed basal cells, pale brown, smooth, arising from superficial mycelium, straight to flexuous, 1–10 septate. Conidiogenous cells terminal or lateral, polyblastic, subcylindrical to somewhat clavate, pale brown, smooth, with 1–4 denticulate loci. Conidia lageniform, distal end free, truncate, rostrate at proximal end, pale brown, with a subhyaline transverse band at equatorial zone, smooth, guttulate, aseptate (adapted from Senanayake et al. 2015, Jaklitsch et al. 2016b).

Type genusPseudomassaria Jacz.

Notes – Jaklitsch & Voglmayr (2012) showed a separate taxonomic clade that included Pseudomassaria and Leiosphaerella through separate analyses of ITS and LSU sequence data. With emphasis on combined ITS-LSU analyses and morphological similarities the clade was introduced as a family Pseudomassariaceae in Senanayake et al. (2015). Maharachchikumbura et al. (2016b) accepted Pseudomassaria with apiosporous ascospores and Leiosphaerella with elongate, bi-celled ascospores. Jaklitsch et al. (2016b) treated Leiosphaerella, Pseudomassaria, Pseudapiospora and Pseudomassariella in Pseudomassariaceae. However, Pseudomassariella has been treated in this family with no phylogenetic support. Pseudomassariaceae commonly appears with Apiosporaceae, Beltraniaceae, Hyponectriaceae and Melogrammataceae clades in Amphisphaeriales in various phylogenetic placements (Senanayake et al. 2015, Konta et al. 2016, Maharachchikumbura et al. 2016b, Samarakoon et al. 2016, Hongsanan et al. 2017, Wijayawardene et al. 2018a). In this study, we accept Pseudomassariaceae in Amphisphaeriales comprising four genera as Leiosphaerella, Pseudomassaria, Pseudapiospora and Pseudomassariella. Only ITS and LSU sequences are available and revisions are required.