Fungalpedia –Note 27 Speleostelium
Speleostelium S. Baldauf, S. Sheikh & Thulin
Index Fungorum number: IF553748; Fig. 1
Speleostelium is classified in Raperosteliaceae and comprises a single species, Speleostelium caveatum which is the type species (Sheikh et al. 2018). Speleostelium is morphologically similar to Tieghemostelium, Hagiwaraea and Raperostelium, but the genus is different from other genera based on small subunit rRNA gene (Sheikh et al. 2018). The sorocarps have hyaline, long, delicate stalks. The spores are ellipsoid, hyaline and granuled. The myxamoebae prey upon cells of other dictyostelids and prevent them from fruiting.
Type species: Speleostelium caveatum (Waddell et al.) S. Baldauf, S. Sheikh & Thulin
Basionym: Dictyostelium caveatum D.R. Waddell, Raper & A.W. Rahn
Fig 1. Speleostelium caveatum (type strain B4-3). a. Clustered sorocarps. b. Sorophores. c. Vegetative myxamoebae. d. Young aggregations formed without inflowing streams. e. Spores. Redrawn from Sheikh et al. (2018).
Reference
Sheikh S, Thulin M, Cavender JC, Escalante R et al. 2018 – A new classification of the Dictyostelids. Protist 169, 1–28. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S143446 1017300925
Entry by
Phongeun Sysouphanthong, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand.
(Edited by Chitrabhanu S. Bhunjun and Kevin D. Hyde)
Published online 18 May 2023