Fungalpedia – Note 2701, Ovicuculispora
Ovicuculispora Etayo.
Citation when using this data: Meng QF et al. – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.
Classification: Bionectriaceae, Hypocreales, Hypocreomycetidae, Sordariomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi.
Ovicuculispora was established by Etayo (2010a) and is characterized by producing two types of ascospores within a single ascus: macrospores and microspores. The type species, Ovicuculispora parmeliae, was transferred from Diplodia parmeliae Berk. & M.A. Curtis. This species is distinguished by its globose to subglobose ascomata, which are pink to red with a brighter papilla and a long-haired surface. The asci are clavate and contain one macrospore and four microspores. The ascospores are ellipsoid to narrowly ellipsoid, rounded at the apices, hyaline, and constricted at the septum. Macrospores measure 29.7–47.7 × 12.0–22.1 μm, while microspores are 6.6–11.2 × 3.1–5.9 μm (Flakus et al. 2019b, Tadome et al. 2021). Ovicuculispora parmeliae exhibits significant variation in macrospore size and has been documented on multiple hosts (Lawrey et al. 1994, Cole et al. 2001, Diederich 2003, Flakus et al. 2006, Etayo 2010b).
Only two species are recognized within the genus, both of which are lichenicolous. Although Telfer et al. (2015) submitted an ITS sequence labeled as Ovicuculispora parmeliae to GenBank, no phylogenetic analysis has yet incorporated this molecular data.
Type species: Ovicuculispora parmeliae (Berk. & M.A. Curtis) Etayo (Etayo 2010b)
= Diplodia parmeliae Berk. & M.A. Curtis (Berkeley 1875)
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Ovicuculispora.
Figure 1 – Ovicuculispora parmeliae redraw from Tadome et al. (2021). a Section of ascomata. b Macroascospores. c Microascospores. Scale bars: a = 5 μm, b = 10 μm, c = 5 μm.
References
Cole MS, Hawksworth D. 2001 – Lichenicolous fungi, mainly from the USA, including Patriciomyces gen. nov. Mycotaxon 77, 305–338.
Diederich P. 2003 – New species and new records of American lichenicolous fungi. Herzogia 16, 41–90.
Etayo J. 2010a – Lichenicolous fungi from the western Pyrenees. V. Three new ascomycetes. Opuscula Philolichenum 8, 131–139.
Etayo J. 2010b – Hongos liquenícolas de Perú Homenaje a Rolf Santesson. Bulletin de la Société linnéenne de Provence 61, 83–128.
Flakus A, Etayo J, Miadlikowska J, Lutzoni F et al. 2019b – Biodiversity assessment of ascomycetes inhabiting Lobariella lichens in Andean cloud forests led to one new family, three new genera and 13 new species of lichenicolous fungi. Plant and Fungal Systematics 64 (2), 283–344.
Flakus A, Kukwa M, Czarnota P. 2006 – Some interesting records of lichenized and lichenicolous Ascomycota from South America. Polish Botanical Journal 51 (2), 209–215.
Lawrey JD, Rossman AY, Lowen R. 1994 – Inhibition of selected hypocrealean fungi by lichen secondary metabolites. Mycologia 86 (4), 502–506.
Tadome K, Ohmura Y. 2021 – Two lichenicolous fungi, Illosporium carneum and Ovicuculispora parmeliae (Bionectriaceae, Ascomycota), new to Japan. Bull. Natl. Mus. Nat. Sci., Ser. B 47 (1), 21–25.
Telfer AC, Young MR, Quinn J, Perez K et al. 2015 – Biodiversity inventories in high gear: DNA barcoding facilitates a rapid biotic survey of a temperate nature reserve. Biodiversity data journal 3, e6313.
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 July 2026