Fungalpedia – Note 154 Ascochytites

 

Ascochytites Teterevn.-Babajan & Tasl.  (Fossil).

            = Ascochytites Barlinge & Paradkar

Citation when using this data: Saxena RK & Hyde KD in prep – Fungalpedia, Fossil Fungi. Mycosphere.

Classification: Fossil Ascomycota

Index FungorumMycoBank, Fig. 1

The monotypic fossil genus, Ascochytites, was described from the Deccan Intertrappean Series (?Late Cretaceous, 75–66 mya) of Mohgaon Kalan, Chhindwara District, Madhya Pradesh, India. The genus comprises a saprobic sphaeropsidaceous taxon with ostiolate pycnidia; hyphae septate, branched; conidia small.

The name Ascochytites was first used by Teterevnikova-Babaian & Taslakhchian (1973), but was not then validly published due to lack of illustration of the spores. Barlinge and Paradkar probably were not aware of this earlier publication, when they proposed Ascochytites as a new genus, with A. intertrappeus as its type (fide Kalgutkar & Jansonius 2000).

Type species: Ascochytites intertrappeus Barlinge & Paradkar.

 

 

Figure 1 – Ascochytites intertrappeus. Scale bar = 200 μm (redrawn from Barlinge & Paradkar 1982)

 

References

Barlinge SG, Paradkar SA. 1982 – Records of new fossil algal and fungal forms from the Deccan Intertrappean of Mohgaon Kalan, M.P., India. Botanique 10(1–4), 163–174.

Kalgutkar RM, Jansonius J. 2000 – Synopsis of fungal spores, mycelia and fructifications. AASP Contribution Series 39, 1–423. 

Teterevnikova-Babaian DN, Taslakhchian MG. 1973 – New data on fossil fungal spores in Armenia. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Mycology and Phytology 4, 159–164.

 

Entry by

Ramesh K. SaxenaBirbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, India

 

Edited by Kevin D. Hyde