Fungalpedia – Note 2589, Sphaerellothecium

 

Sphaerellothecium Zopf 

Citation when using this data: Meng QF et al. – Fungalpedia.

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

Classification: Mycosphaerellaceae, Mycosphaerellales, Dothideomycetidae, Dothideomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi

The lichenicolous genus Sphaerellothecium Zopf was established by Zopf (1897) to accommodate the species S. araneosum (Rehm ex Arnold) Zopf. This species, originally named Sphaerella araneosa Rehm ex Arnold, exhibits characteristics intermediate between the genera Sphaerella and Tichothecium (Zopf 1897). Sphaerellothecium is characterized by perithecial ascomata and the formation of a reticulum of superficial dark hyphae on the thallus and apothecia of its host. Its ascospores are hyaline, sometimes turning brown at maturity and have 1-3 septa (Roux et al. 1994b, Knudsen et al. 2009c). 

Etayo (2008) placed the species Echinothecium reticulatum in Sphaerellothecium. This taxonomic conclusion was accepted by Chomnunti et al. (2011) following examination of the Sphaerellothecium holotype, which confirmed the synonymy of Echinothecium with Sphaerellothecium based on morphological similarities between Echinothecium reticulatum and Sphaerellothecium araneosum. To date, 42 species are accepted as lichenicolous species within this genus, with the exception of Sphaerellothecium alpestre Friederich, which is solely documented in MycoBank (2025). Due to the lack of detailed references verifying its lifestyle, it has not been included in the lichenicolous list until more literature is available.

Type species: Sphaerellothecium araneosum (Rehm ex Arnold) Zopf

= Sphaerella araneosa Rehm ex Arnold, Verh. Kaiserl.-Königl. zool.-bot. Ges. Wien 23: 115 (1873)

Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Sphaerellothecium

Figure 1 – Sphaerellothecium araneosum redrawn from Chomnunti et al. (2011). a Fruiting bodies on host tissue. b Ascomata with hyphae. c Section through ascoma. d, e Ascus. f Ascospores. Scale bars: a = 200 μm, b = 100 μm, c= 25 μm, d–f = 10 μm.

 

References

Chomnunti P, Schoch CL, Aguirre-Hudson B, Ko-Ko TW et al. 2011 – Capnodiaceae. Fungal Diversity 51, 103–134.

Etayo J. 2008 – Líquenes y hongos liquenícolas del LIC de Ablitas (S. Navarra, España). Cryptogamie-Mycologie 29 (1), 63–94.

Knudsen K, Kocourková J, Etayo J. 2009c – A New Species of Sphaerellothecium (Mycosphaerellaceae) on Placidium lacinulatum. Opuscula Philolichenum 6, 41–44.

Roux C, Triebel D. 1994b – Révision des espèces de Stigmidium et de Sphaerellothecium (champignons lichénicoles non lichénisés, Ascomycetes) correspondant à Pharcidia epicymatia sensu Keissler ou à Stigmidium schaereri auct. Bull. Soc. Linn. Provence 45, 451–542.

Zopf W. 1897 – Untersuchungen über die durch parasitische Pilze hervorgerufenen Krankheiten der Flechten. Nova Acta Academiae Caesareae Leopoldino-Carolinae Germanicae Naturae Curiosorum 70 (2), 99–190.

 

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 11 June 2026

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