Fungalpedia – Note 2693, Skyttella
Skyttella D. Hawksw. & R. Sant.
Citation when using this data: Meng QF et al. – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Faceoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1.
Classification: Cordieritidaceae, Helotiales, Leotiomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi
Skyttella was established by Hawksworth et al. (1988) to accommodate the type species S. mulleri, which colonizes the thalli of Peltigera. This genus is characterized by translucent, waxy, yellowish to yellow-orange ascomata with an arthonioid structure, and either a poorly developed or absent exciple. The paraphyses are branched, cylindrical, broad, and occasionally septate, with non-capitate apices. The asci are elongated, clavate, functionally unitunicate with a thickened pore, and the ascospores are simple, hyaline, ellipsoidal, and possess smooth walls (Etayo 2017).
A second species, Skyttella stictae, described by Etayo (2017), grows on the apothecial discs of Sticta. It differs from S. mulleri by having a small exciple and by parasitizing Sticta apothecia rather than Peltigera thalli. Additionally, S. stictae is considerably smaller and lighter in color than S. mulleri.
Lumbsch et al. (2007, 2010) classified Skyttella within Helotiales as a genus incertae sedis, while Wijayawardene et al. (2018) assigned it to Cordieritidaceae. Moriyama et al. (2024) provided the first sequence data for the type species S. mulleri from a Japanese specimen. Their phylogenetic analysis confirmed its placement in Cordieritidaceae (Moriyama et al. 2024). The genus comprises only two recognized species, with a single LSU sequence for the type species available in GenBank.
Type species: Skyttella mulleri (Willey) D. Hawksw. & R. Sant., on Peltigera. (Hawksworth et al. 1988c)
= Phacopsis mulleri Willey
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Skyttella.
Figure 1 – Skyttella mulleri redrawn from Moriyama et al. (2024). a Paraphyses. b Asci. c Ascospores. Scale bars: a, b = 10 μm, C = 5 μm.
References
Etayo J 2017 – Hongos liquenícolas de Ecuador. Opera Lilloana, 50, 1–535.
Hawksworth DL, Eriksson O. 1988a – (895)-(906) Proposals to Conserve 11 Family Names in the Ascomycotina (Fungi). Taxon, 190–193.
Lumbsch HT, Huhndorf SM. 2007 – Outline of Ascomycota—2007. Myconet 13, 1–58.
Lumbsch HT, Huhndorf SM. 2010 – Myconet Volume 14. Part one. Outline of Ascomycota—2009. Part two. Notes on ascomycete systematics. Nos. 4751–5113. Fieldiana Life Earth Science 1, 1–64.
Moriyama T, Tanaka C, Masumoto H. 2024 – Skyttella mulleri, a lichenicolous fungus new to Japan. Japanese Journal of Mycology 65 (1), 9–16.
Wijayawardene NN, Hyde KD, Lumbsch HT, Liu JK et al. 2018 – Outline of Ascomycota: 2017. Fungal Diversity 88 (1), 167–263.
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