Fungalpedia – Note 2060, Coniothyriaceae

 

Coniothyriaceae. W.B. Cooke.

Citation when using this data: Hongsanan S et al. 2020 – Fungalpedia, Ascomycota.

Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank

Classification: Pleosporales, Pleosporomycetidae, Dothideomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi

 

Pathogenic (Necrotrophic, leaf spot) or saprobic or saprobic on dead branches, Sexual morph: cucurbitaria-like. Ascomata black, superficial to semi-immersed, gregarious, confluent, sometimes scattered beneath the host periderm or on decorticated wood, fully or partly erumpent, globose, black, ostiolate. Ostiole central, short. Peridium composed of blackish to dark brown cells of textura angularis, cells towards the inside lighter, composed of thin-walled cells of textura angularis. Hamathecium comprising numerous, branched septate, cellular pseudoparaphyses. Asci 8-spored, bitunicate, fissitunicate, cylindrical, short pedicellate. Ascospores overlapping 1-seriate, muriform, mostly ellipsoidal, initially hyaline, becoming brown at maturity, slightly paler, conical and narrow at the ends, 4–6-transversely septate, with 1–2 vertical septa, constricted at middle septum. Asexual morph: Conidiomata pycnidial, separate, immersed, globose, dark or pale brown, uni-locular, thin-walled. Peridium brown, thick-walled cells of textura angularis or globulosa. Ostiole central, circular, sometimes papillate. Conidiophores reduced to conidiogenous cells lining the inner cavity. Macroconidiogenous cells hyaline, smooth, doliiform, proliferating percurrently at apex, Macroconidia solitary, ellipsoid, red-brown, with central transverse septum, becoming muriformly septate, smooth-walled. Microconidial cells intermingled with macroconidial cells, hyaline, integrated, proliferating percurrently at apex, subcylindrical. Microconidia globose to ellipsoid, hyaline, aseptate, smooth-walled.

Notes – The family was introduced to accommodate Coniothyrium spp. Later Coniothyriaceae was synonymized to Leptosphaeriaceae by Kirk et al. (2008). Coniothyriaceae was reinstated in Pleosporales as de Gruyter et al. (2013) revealed the distinct phylogenetic relationship between Coniothyrium palmarum and Leptosphaeriaceae. Further de Gruyter et al. (2013) transferred some Phoma spp. to Coniothyrium as they claded in Coniothyriaceae. Hence C. minitans and C. sporulosum claded in Montagnulaceae, the two species were included in the new genus Paraconiothyrium by Verkley et al. (2004b). Cortinas et al. (2004) showed that Coniothyrium zuluense was accommodated in Mycosphaerellaceae. Cortinas et al. (2006) and Crous et al. (2009b) suggested that C. zuluense is well-accommodated in Colletogloeopsis (Phaeosphaeriaceae). Quaedvlieg et al. (2014) reported Colletogloeopsis under Teratosphaeriaceae.

 

Type genus: Coniothyrium Corda.

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Coniothyriaceae.

 

References

Cortinas MN, Burgess T, Dell B, Xu D et al. 2006 – First record of Colletogloeopsis zuluense comb. nov., causing a stem canker of Eucalyptus in China. Mycological Research 110, 229–236.

Cortinas MN, Koch N, Thain J et al. 2004 – First record of the Eucalyptus stem canker pathogen, Coniothyrium zuluense from Hawaii. Australasian Plant Pathology 33, 309.

Crous PW, Groenewald JZ, Summerell BA et al. 2009b – Co-occurring species of Teratosphaeria on Eucalyptus. Persoonia 22, 38–48.

De Gruyter J, Woudenberg JHC, Aveskamp AA, Verkley GJM et al. 2013 – Redisposition of phoma-like anamorphs in Pleosporales. Studies in Mycology 75, 1–36.

 Kirk P, Cannon P, Minter D, Stalpers JA. 2008 – Dictionary of the Fungi. 10th edn. CAB International, Wallingford.

Quaedvlieg W, Binder M, Groenewald JZ, Summerell BA et al. 2014 – Introducing the consolidated species concept to resolve species in the Teratosphaeriaceae. Persoonia 33, 1–40.

Verkley GJM, Starink-Willemse M, van Iperen A, Abeln ECA. 2004b – Phylogenetic analyses of Septoria species based on the ITS and LSU-D2 regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA. Mycologia 96, 558–571.

 

Entry by

Sinang Hongsanan, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Plant Epigenetics, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Microbial Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, People’s Republic of China, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50002, Thailand

 

Published online 23 March 2026

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