Fungalpedia – Note 2639, Sarcopyreniaceae
Sarcopyreniaceae Nav.-Ros. & Cl. Roux.
Citation when using this data: Meng QF et al. – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank.
Classification: Verrucariales, Chaetothyriomycetidae, Eurotiomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi.
Sarcopyreniaceae was introduced by Navarro-Rosinés et al. (1998c) to accommodate the type genus Sarcopyrenia Nyl. This family is characterized by its non-lichenized, lichenicolous fungi that inhabit poorly developed crustose lichen thalli. The ascomata are black, highly prominent, ostiolate, and enclosed within a paraplectenchymatous stroma surrounding an excipulum composed of two layers. The hamathecium consists of periphyses, short pseudoparaphyses, and evanescent paraphysoids originating from the paraplectenchymatous centrum. The asci are unitunicate, thin-walled, with a moderately thick tholus, lacking a conspicuous apical apparatus, and are 8-spored. Dehiscence occurs through gelification of the ascus wall. The spores are simple or transversely multiseptate (restricted to the width), colorless, elongate (ranging from bacilliform to thread-like), and often somewhat helicoid (Navarro-Rosinés et al. 1998c).
Navarro-Rosinés et al. (1998c) placed this family within Verrucariales. However, due to the lack of molecular data, the phylogenetic position of this monotypic family remains uncertain, and it continues to be retained within Verrucariales (Hyde et al. 2024).
Type genus: Sarcopyrenia Nyl.
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Sarcopyreniaceae.
References
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 25 June 2026