Zygospermellaceae S.K. Huang, Maharachch. & K.D. Hyde, fam. nov.

MycoBank number: MB 558347; Index Fungorum number: IF 558347; Facesoffungi number: FoF 10144

Etymology – Named for Zygospermella, the type genus of this family.

Coprophilous, entomogenous or on the rock. Sexual morph: Ascomata perithecial, solitary, superficial to semi- immersed, obpyriform to subglobose, dark brown to black, verrucose, ostiolate. Peridium comprising carbonaceous to membranaceous, brown to black cells of textura angularis to textura prismatica. Paraphyses unbranched, broad, cylindrical, ventricose, septate. Asci 8-spored, unituni- cate, cylindrical to subclavate, pedicellate, apex rounded, with J- apical ring. Ascospores uni- or bi-seriate, hyaline, aseptate, fusiform to ellipsoidal when young, becoming elongate-subfusiform, ends truncate, 1–3-septate, constricted at the middle septum, dark brown when mature, with an appendage and germ pore at each end. Appendages terminal, hyaline, cylindrical, tapering, smooth-walled, ends rounded, with longitudinally striate. Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous. Conidiophores arising from aerial hyphae, erect, inflated at the base. Conidia small, globose to oval, forming globose masses on the apex of the phialides (adapted from Cain 1934, 1935; Lundqvist 1972; Zhang et al. 2017).

Type genusZygospermella Cain 1935

NotesZygospermella was initially introduced as Delitschia (Pleosporales) because of the similar hourglass-shaped ascospores, and then redefined as Zygospermella and placed in Lasiosphaeriaceae (Mouton 1897; Cain 1935; Lundqvist 1969). Phylogenetically, Zygospermella and Lasiosphaeris form a clade sister to Neoschizotheciaceae (Kruys et al. 2014; Marin-Felix et al. 2020). In this study, Lasiosphaeris, Zygospermella, Episternus and Ramophialophora petraea clustered as a sister clade of Neoschizotheciaceae in LSU sequence data (not shown). However, in multi-gene analysis, Episternus onthophagi, Ramophialophora petraea and Zygospermella insignis form an independent cluster (83%ML/0.99PP) and nested in Sordariales as an orphan clade (83%ML/1.00PP, Fig. 26). In addition, the phialophora-like hyphomycetous E. onthophagi is epizoic fungus and R. petraea was collected on the rock in Karst cave (Zhang et al. 2017; Górz and Boroń 2018). Zygospermella has special hourglass-shaped ascospores attached to terminal appendages with longitudinally striate, which is different from the other members in Sordariales.