Melanostictus
Melanostictus Samarak. & K.D. Hyde, in Samarakoon, Hyde, Maharachchikumbura, Stadler, Gareth Jones, Promputtha, Suwannarach, Camporesi, Bulgakov & Liu, Fungal Diversity 112: 34 (2022)
Xylariomycetidae, Xylariales, Diatrypaceae, Melanostictus
Index Fungorum number: IF 558719; Facesoffungi number: FoF 10196; 2 morphological species; 2 species with sequence data.
Saprobic on woody substrates. Sexual morph: Ascomata immersed, visible as black, raised dots on substrates, solitary to aggregated, globose, ostiolate. Ectostroma yellow to white. Ostioles centric, sulcate on top, periphysate. Ascomatal wall multi-layered; outer layer composed of dark brown, flattened cells of textura angularis; inner layer made up of hyaline cells of textura angularis. Paraphyses septate. Asci unitunicate, 8-spored, clavate, long-pedicellate, apex flattened, with minute apical ring. Ascospores overlapping, hyaline, cylindrical or elongate-allantoid, aseptate, smooth-walled. Asexual morph: Undetermined (adapted from Samarakoon et al. 2022).
Type species: Melanostictus longiostiolatus Samarak. & K.D. Hyde, in Samarakoon, Hyde, Maharachchikumbura, Stadler, Gareth Jones, Promputtha, Suwannarach, Camporesi, Bulgakov & Liu, Fungal Diversity 112: 34 (2022)
Notes: Melanostictus is characterised by immersed ascomata appearing as black dots on the host surface, long papillate ostioles with a sulcate top, yellow to white ectostroma, 8-spored asci with cylindrical or elongate allantoid ascospores. Several genera are phylogenetically close to Melanostictus and bear 8-spored asci with diversified stromatic characters. Cryptosphaeria, Eutypa and Neoeutypella have effused stromata and aggregated ascomata on the host surface (Trouillas et al. 2015, de Almeida et al. 2016, Phookamsak et al. 2019). Allodiatrype has well-developed, erumpent stromata (Konta et al. 2020). Halodiatrype and Pedumispora are the closest genera to Melanostictus. Halodiatrype has immersed ascomata, papillate ostioles with a brown outer amorphous layer and inner yellow cells of textura porrecta, 8-spored, unitunicate asci with oblong to allantoid or sub-inaequilateral, aseptate to septate, light brown ascospores (Dayarathne et al. 2016), while Pedumispora has 1–4 immersed ascomata per stroma, papillate ostioles, 8-spored, fusiform asci with filiform, multi-septate, curved, longitudinally striate ascospores (Hyde and Jones 1992). Melanostictus clustered sister to Halodiatrype and Pedumispora as a distinct group in morphology and phylogeny. Hence, the two new collections were introduced in Melanostictus (copied from Samarakoon et al. 2022).
Species illustrated in this entry:
Melanostictus longiostiolatus Samarak. & K.D. Hyde
Recent News
Test newsRecent Genus
AquafiliformisParavamsapriya
Obliquiminima
Recent Species
Aquafiliformis lignicolaParavamsapriya ostiolata
Obliquiminima hyalina