Teratosphaeriaceae Crous & U. Braun, Stud. Mycol. 58: 8 (2007).
MycoBank number: MB 504465; Index Fungorum number: IF 504465; Facesoffungi number: FoF 06989, ca. 386 species.
Sexual morph: Ascomata superficial to immersed, with in a stroma of brown pseudoparenchymatal cells, globose, unilocular, papillate, ostiolate, canal periphysate, with periphysoids frequently present. Perdium comprises several layers of brown cells of textura angularis, inner layer of flattened, hyaline cells. Pseudoparaphyses frequently present, subcylindrical, branched, septate, anastomosing. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fasciculate, frequently with multi-layered endotunica. Ascospores ellipsoid or fusoid to obovoid, septate, hyaline, but becoming pale brown and verruculose, frequently covered in mucoid sheath. Asexual morph: Coelomycetous or hyphomycetous. Conidiomata acervular or pycnidial in coelomycetes, none or sporodochial in hyphomycetes. Conidiomata wall composed of brown globose to angular cells. Conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells, mono- or polyblastic, brown, branched or unbranched. Conidiogenous cells arthric or holoblastic or percurrent proliferation or annellidic, brown. Conidia branched or unbranched chains or solitary, oval, avicular to clavate, or ellipsoid in shape, sometimes with marginal frill, 0–1-septate, brown, verruculose to smooth-walled.
Type – Teratosphaeria Syd. & P. Syd.
Notes – Teratosphaeriaceae was introduced by Crous et al. (2007a) to accommodate Teratosphaeria (with readeriella-like asexual morphs) and 11 asexual genera. Subsequent studies by Crous et al. (2009d, e, 2011c, d), Crous & Groenewald (2011), Quaedvlieg et al. (2014) and Videira et al. (2016) added several genera into the family. Among the families in Dothideomycetes, Teratosphaeriaceae is one of the largest comprising approximately 60 genera (Wijayawardene et al. 2020). Members of the family are reported with only sexual morphs or as coelomycetous or hyphomycetous morphs (i.e. pleomorphism) (Wijayawardene et al. 2017a). Teratosphaeria has both coelomycetous (Kirramyces and Colletogloeopsis asexual morphs), and hyphomycetous (Batcheloromyces-like) asexual morphs (Crous et al. 2009a, b). The members of Teratosphaeriaceae have a broad range of life modes including saprobes, plant and human pathogens, rock-inhabiting, and endophytes (Crous et al. 2009d, e, 2011c, d, Egidi et al. 2014, Quaedvlieg et al. 2014). Hence, some of the taxa have been recognized as ‘extremophilic’ (e.g. Constantinomyces fide Egidi et al. 2014).
Bryochiton has been treated as a member in Pseudoperisporiaceae by Hyde et al. (2017) and Wijayawardene et al. (2018). However, in our phylogenetic analyses (Fig. 24), Bryochiton monascus, the type species of Bryochiton groups in Teratosphaeriaceae. Two strains of B. perpusillus (CBS 126798 and M202) also reside in Teratosphaeriaceae but are distinct from B. monascus. Thus, we conclude that Bryochiton is paraphyletic in Teratosphaeriaceae. In Wijayawardene et al. (2018), Ramopenidiella has been accepted as in Teratosphaeriaceae. However, in our analyses (Fig. 24), Ramopenidiella clusters outside. Teratosphaeriaceae and as the sister clade to Extremaceae. Hence, we regard Ramopenidiella as Capnodiales genera incertae sedis. Fodinomyces and Phacellium have been mistakenly listed as members of Teratosphaeriaceae in Wijayawardene et al. (2018). Kolařík et al. (2015) regarded Fodinomyces as a synonym of Acidiella while Phacellium was regarded as a synonym of Ramularia by Videira et al. (2017).