Abstract:

The taxonomic affinity of Halosphaeria cucullata to Halosphaeria is reassessed based on a recent collection of this fungus. Halosphaeria cucullata is characterized by immersed, darkly coloured ascomata, clavate asci which deliquesce very early in development, and cylindrical ascospores with or without a polar cap-like appendage at one end. In a phylogenetic analysis of the LSU rDNA sequences from members of the Halosphaeriaceae, H. cucullata did not form a monophyletic clade with H. appendiculata, the type species of the genus. These results suggest that H. cucullata should not be included in Halosphaeria. Okeanomyces gen. nov. is proposed to accommodate this fungus. © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2004, 146, 223-229.

Keywords: Halosphaeria appendiculata; Halosphaeriaceae; marine fungi; Periconia prolifica; phylogeny

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2004.00314.x

Affiliations: 1: School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth, King Henry Building, King Henry I Street, Portsmouth PO1 2DY, UK 2: National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, 113 Paholyothin Road, Klong 1, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand 3: Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR 4: Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Federal Territory, Malaysia