Fungalpedia – Note 2614, Didymellopsis
Didymellopsis (Sacc. & D. Sacc.) Clem. & Shear.
Citation when using this data: Meng QF et al. – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.
Classification: Xanthopyreniaceae, Collemopsidiales, Dothideomycetes orders incertae sedis, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi
Didymellopsis was established by Clements et al. (1931) to accommodate the type species D. latitans, which was transferred from Obryzum latitans Nyl. This species grows on the genera Gonohymenia and Lempholemma. The genus is characterized by globose to pear-shaped pseudothecia, which are completely sunken into the host thallus or laterally attached, typically with preformed openings. The peridium is dark brown to reddish-brown and distinctly demarcated from the substrate. The asci are fissitunicate, ± flexible, cylindrical to club-shaped, with 4, 6, or 8 spores. They have a thickened apex forming a distinct ocular chamber. The ascospores are hyaline, two-celled, thin-walled, often enclosed in a mucilaginous sheath when young. Mature spores lack of ornamentation, with the upper cell being larger, broader, and more rounded than the lower cell (Grube et al. 1990).
Diederich et al. (2018a) listed eight species in Didymellopsis, including Pharcidia collematis Dughi and Verrucaria symbiotica Nyl., which were provisionally placed in this genus. However, these two species are poorly understood and require further study for confirmation. Alstrup et al. (2018) introduced a new species, Didymellopsis antarctica, which grows on Acarospora macrocyclos. Similarly, Zhurbenko (2021) described Didymellopsis solorinae, found on Solorina rgenti.
To date, Didymellopsis includes eight confirmed lichenicolous species, with two additional species remaining provisional, and without molecular data.
Type species: Didymellopsis latitans (Nyl.) Nyl.
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Didymellopsis
Figure 1 – Didymellopsis latitans redrawn from Grube et al. (1990). a Ascus. b Hamathecium. c Ascospores. Scale bars: a, b = 20 μm, c = 10 μm.
References
Clements FE, Shear CL 1931 – The Genera of Fungi. Edn 2. Wilson, New York, 1–496.
Zhurbenko MP. 2021a – New species of lichenicolous fungi on Solorina. Herzogia 34 (1), 127–137.
Entry by
Meng QF, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, 57100, Thailand and School of Public Health, Zunyi Medical University, Guizhou 563000, China.
Published online 16 June 2026