Coprophilous ascomycetes with passive ascospore liberation from Brazil Author Melo, Roger Fagner Ribeiro Author Maia, Leonor Costa Author Miller, Andrew Nicholas text Phytotaxa 2017 2017-02-08 295 2 159 172 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.295.2.4 journal article 10.11646/phytotaxa.295.2.4 1179-3163 13688452 6. Melanospora zamiae Corda, Icon. fung. (Prague) 1: 24 (1837) ( Plate 1 , Figs. 15–16) Ascomata ostiolate, usually scattered, semi immersed to superficial, globose to subglobose with a long, cylindrical neck, light brown to golden, 650–750 × 290–350 μm. Neck long, straight to slightly curved, 150–370 × 70–85 μm, with a mucilaginous mass of mature ascospores at the apex. Terminal hairs setose, straight to slightly flexuous, simple, thick-walled, septate, smooth, hyaline to faintly yellowish, 2.5–5(–7.5) μm in diameter at the broadest part, up to 225μ m long, crowning the neck. Lateral hairs sparse, hyphoid, simple, thin-walled, hyaline. Peridium pseudoparenchymatous, membranaceous, translucent, fragile, polygonal a textura angularis of thin-walled, light yellow to yellowish brown cells, 15–17.5 μm diam., becoming more elongated towards the neck. Asci 8-spored, clavate, with rounded apex and a short stipe, 35.5–50 × 20–25 μm, evanescent. Ascospores 1-celled, ellipsoidal to limoniform, smooth, hyaline when young, then clear brown and finally dark brown, 15–20(–22.5) × 12.5–15 μm, with two terminal germ pores early dispersed to form a dark mass at the neck apex. Material examined: — BRAZIL . Pernambuco , Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco ( UFRPE ), Recife, on goat dung, 9 Jul 2011 , R . F . R . Melo ( URM 86670!). Habitat: —Plant material, paper and deer dung. Parasitic on some fungi. PLATE 1. Coprophilous ascomycetes with passive ascospore liberation recorded in Brazil. Corynascus sepedonium 1. Ascoma, 2. peridium, 3. ascospores and 4. conidium. Kernia nitida 5. Ascoma on dung and 6. hair tip. Leuconeurospora pulcherrima 7. Ascoma, 8. peridium and 9. ascospores. Lophotrichus bartlettii 10. Ascoma on dung, 11. mounted and 12. asci. Melanospora damnosa 13. Ascoma on dung and 14. mounted. M. zamiae 15. Ascoma in mounting and 16. ascospores. Monascus ruber 17. Ascoma in mounting. Mycoarachis inversa 18. Ascoma on incubation paper and 19. mounted, 20. asci and 21. ascospores. Pseudoallescheria boydii 22. Ascoma in mounting, 23. ascus and 24. mature ascospores. Thielavia terrestris 25. Ascomata on dung. 26 . mature ascospores. Tripterosporella pakistani 27. Ascoma in mounting, 28. ascus and 29. mature ascospore. Zopfiella erostrata 30. Cleistothecium in mounting. Z. longicaudata 31. Cleistothecium in mounting. Scale bars: 1, 6, 9, 16, 17 =10 μm. 2, 21 = 2.5 μm. 3, 4, 20, 22, 23, 24, 26 = 5 μm. 5 =200 μm. 7, 11, 14 =50 μm. 8, 12, 13 = 20 μm. 15, 18 =100 μm. 19 =25 μm. 10, 25 = 300 μm. Figure: R.F.R. Melo. Distribution: —Africa ( Egypt , Libya , Sierra Leone , Zambia ), Asia ( India , Israel ), Europe ( Germany , United Kingdom ), North America ( Canada , Martinique and United States ), Oceania ( Australia and New Zealand ) and South America ( Argentina ). Notes :—This species can be identified by its long neck (150–370 μm long), glabrous to slightly pilose perithecia and predominantly limoniform ascospores, not flattened.