Fungalpedia – Note 3169, Mycelephas

 

Mycelephas R.F. Castañeda, Mycotaxon 110: 90 (2009).

Citation when using this data: Jian Ma et al. 2024 – Fungalpedia.

Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.

Classification: Incertae sedis, Incertae sedis, Incertae sedis, Incertae sedis, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi.

Notes: Mycelephas was erected by Gams et al. (2009), with M. robustus as the type species based on its unique conidia. Mycelephas comprises two species: M. levisporus and M. robustus (formerly known as Arnoldiella robusta), found on submerged wood or dead bark of Bursera simaruba in Brazil and Cuba (Ruiz 1984; Gams et al. 2009; Cantillo-Pérez et al. 2017). The genus Mycelephas is characterized by solitary, simple or branched, straight to flexuous, septate, brown conidiophores, mono- or poly-blastic, integrated, terminal or intercalary, sympodial, cylindrical, conidiogenous cells with a dark scar, and solitary, subhyaline to brown, smooth or echinulate, helicoid, septate, conidia that are slightly constricted at the septa, comprising fork in two branches, and coiled by 2-3 times, almost presenting a cochleate-like appearance, and V-shaped with a truncated base conidial filament (Gams et al. 2009; Cantillo-Pérez et al. 2017). Mycelephas differs from other helicosporous genera by its unique bifurcates in branches of coiled conidia (Linder 1929; Zhao et al. 2007; Boonmee et al. 2011, 2014; Lu et al. 2018b).

Type species: Mycelephas robustus (R.F. Castañeda) R.F. Castañeda, Mycotaxon 110: 90 (2009).

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Mycelephas.

Figure 1 – (a) Inesiosporium longispirale (redrawn from Seifert et al. (2011)); (b) Moorella speciosa (redrawn from Seifert et al. (2011)); (c) Mycelephas robustus (redrawn from Seifert et al. (2011)).

 

References

Boonmee S, Rossman AY, Liu JK, Li WJ et al. 2014 – Tubeufiales, ord. nov., integrating sexual and asexual generic names. Fungal Diversity 68:239–298.

Boonmee S, Zhang Y, Chomnunti P, Chukeatirote E et al. 2011 – Revision of lignicolous Tubeufiaceae based on morphological reexamination and phylogenetic analysis. Fungal Diversity 51:63–102.

Cantillo-Pérez T, Mena-Portales J, Gusmão LFP. 2017 – Mycelephas levisporus sp. nov. on submerged wood from a freshwater habitat in Brazil. Mycotaxon 132(1):5–8.

Gams W, Seifert K, Morgan-Jones GA. 2009 – New and validated hyphomycete taxa to resolve nomenclatural and taxonomic issues. Mycotaxon 110(1):89–108.

Linder DH. 1929 – A monograph of the helicosporous fungi imperfecti. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 16(3):227–388.

Lu YZ, Liu JK, Hyde KD, Jeewon R et al. 2018b – A taxonomic reassessment of Tubeufiales based on multi-locus phylogeny and morphology. Fungal Diversity 92:131–344.

Ruiz RFC. 1984 – Nuevos Taxones De Deuteromycotina: Arnoldiella robusta gen et sp. nov.: Roigiella lignicola gen. et sp. nov. Sporidesmium pseudolmediae sp. nov.; Y Thozetella havanensis sp. nov. Revista del Jardín Botánico Nacional 5(1):57–87.

Zhao G, Liu X, Wu W. 2007 – Helicosporous hyphomycetes from China. Fungal Diversity 26:313–524.

 

Entry by

Jian Ma, School of Food and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Guizhou Institute of Technology, Guiyang 550003, P.R. China, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, 57100, Thailand.

 

Published online 11 September 2026

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