CEPAVE   05420
CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS PARASITOLOGICOS Y DE VECTORES
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
New records of Austrosmittium (Harpellales) in North and South America
Autor/es:
WHITE, MERLIN M.; SIRI, AUGUSTO; FERRINGTON, LEONARD; STRONGMAN, DOUG
Lugar:
Baton Rouge, Louisiana (EEUU)
Reunión:
Congreso; Micological Society of America 2007 Annual Meeting; 2007
Institución organizadora:
Mycological Society of America
Resumen:
In 1990 four species of the new genus Austrosmittium Lichtwardt and Williams (Harpellales) were described from the hindguts of larval midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) in two papers by the same authors. Harpellales is the only order of fungi with biconical zygospores. The biconical zygospores, documented for three of four of the Austrosmittium species, were medially swollen and quite distinctive. The unusual nature of the sexual spore and the apparently narrow distribution led to the general notion that Austrosmittium may be restricted to Australia and New Zealand. Over the last several years, amongst various collections and surveys of gut fungi, we now have gathered clear evidence (particularly with medially swollen biconical zygospores) that Austrosmittium also occurs in both North and South America, including collections from Canada, USA and Argentina. We consolidate and report our accumulated data on Austrosmittium in the new world to displace earlier notions that it may be restricted in distribution and to encourage further collections which will undoubtedly lead to new species descriptions from the Americas and possibly worldwide.