Fungalpedia – Note 2800, Zygospermella
Zygospermella. Cain.
Citation when using this data: Huang SK et al. 2021 – Fungalpedia.
Index Fungorum, Facesoffungi, MycoBank, GenBank, Fig 1
Classification: Zygospermellaceae, Sordariales, Sordariomycetidae, Sordariomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota, Fungi
Coprophilous. Sexual morph: Ascomata perithecial, solitary, superficial to semi-immersed, obpyriform to subglobose, dark brown to black, verrucose, ostiolate. Peridium comprising carbonaceous to membranaceous, brown to black cells of textura angularis to textura prismatica. Paraphyses unbranched, broad, cylindrical, ventricose, septate. Asci 8-spored, unitunicate, cylindrical to subclavate, pedicellate, apex rounded, with J- apical ring. Ascospores uni- or bi-seriate, hyaline, aseptate, fusiform to ellipsoidal when young, becoming hourglass-shaped to elongate-subfusiform, ends truncate, usually 1-septate, constricted at the middle septum, dark brown when mature, with a germ pore and appendage at each end. Appendages hyaline, cylindrical, tapering, smooth-walled, ends rounded, with longitudinally striate. Asexual morph: Undetermined (adapted from Cain 1934,1935; Lundqvist 1972).
Notes: Zygospermella was invalidly introduced as Zygospermum (Cain 1934). Cain (1935) proposed that Zygospermum should be corrected to Zygospermella and accepted Zygospermella insignis and Z. setosa. Lundqvist (1969, 1972) clarified that these species are conspecific, as Z. insignis, and introduced another species, Zygospermella striata. Therefore, two species are presently accepted for Zygospermella, Z. insignis (type) and Z. striata. Subsequently, Kruys et al. (2014) sequenced Z. insignis, which was collected on muskox dung in the USA, cattle dung in France and cow dung in Sweden, and found these strains clustered in Lasiosphaeriaceae (s. lat.). In this study, Z. insignis is sister to Ramophialophora petraea in Zygospermellaceae (100%ML/1.00PP, Fig. 26).
Type species: Zygospermella insignis (Mouton) Cain, Mycologia 27(2): 227 (1935).
Other accepted species: Species Fungorum – search Zygospermella.
Figure 1 – Zygospermella insignis: a–k, m–p (BPI-618905); l (redrawn from Cain 1934). a Herbarium material. b Ascoma semi-immersed on host. c Vertical section of the neck. d Peridium. e Setae. f Asci with paraphyses. g Paraphyses. h, i Asci. j Apical ring of ascus. k–p Ascospores. Notes: f. i. j from permanent mount. Scale bars: b = 500 µm, f = 100 µm, c. d. h. i = 50 µm, e. g. k–p = 20 µm, j = 10 µm.
References
Cain RF 1934 – Studies of Coprophilous Spaeriales in Ontario, pp 1–126.
Cain RF 1935 – The genus Zygospermum. Mycologia 27(2):227.
Lundqvist N 1969 – Zygopleurage and Zygospermella. Bot Notiser 122:353–374.
Lundqvist N 1972 – Nordic Sordariaceae s. lat. Symbolae Botanicae Upsalienses 20:1–374.
Entry by
Shi-Ke Huang, State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China, The Engineering Research Center of Southwest Bio-Pharmaceutical Resources, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, Guizhou Province, China, Center of Excellence in Fungal Research, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand, The Mushroom Research Centre, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
Published online 18 June 2026