Fungalpedia – Note 190, Diploneurospora (Fossil fungi)
Diploneurospora Jain & Gupta
Citation when using this data: Saxena RK & Hyde KD. 2024 (in prep) – Fungalpedia, Fossil Fungi.
Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig. 1
Classification: Sordariales, Sordariomycetidae, Sordariomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Fossil Ascomycota, Fungi
The monotypic fossil genus, Diploneurospora, was described by Jain & Gupta (1970) from the Early Miocene (23–16 mya) sediments of Padappakkara, Kollam District, Kerala, India. The genus includes two-celled, uniseriate, elliptical ascospores with uneven margins. The upper cell is prominent, and the spore wall is dark brown, thick, and sculptured with longitudinal ribs. The smaller lower cell is hyaline, appendage-like and with a faint rib sculpture. According to Jain & Gupta (1970), the single-celled ascospores of the extant genus Neurospora are similar to the two-celled fossil ascospore of Diploneurospora. Only one species is listed in Index Fungorum (2023) under this genus.
Type species: Diploneurospora tewarii Jain & Gupta.
Figure 1– Diploneurospora tewarii. Scale bar = 20 μm. Redrawn from Jain & Gupta (1970)
References
Entry by
Ramesh K. Saxena, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, India
(Edited by Kevin D. Hyde, Samaneh Chaharmiri-Dokhaharani, & Achala R. Rathnayaka)