Freshwater Ascomycetes - Species Monograph

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Genus	Species	Author
Aniptodera	inflatascigera	K.M. Tsui, K.D. Hyde and I.J. Hodgkiss
Class	Order	Family
Sordariomycetes	Halosphaeriales	Halosphaeriaceae

MycoBank ID: 443158

Synonymy:

Description

Habit:

Ascomata on wood scattered, scattered, superficial to immersed, subiculate or not.

Ascomata:

Ascomata on wood 600–660 x 260–275 µm, scattered, superficial to partially immersed, subiculate or not, hyaline to light grey, membranous, with a hyaline neck.

Peridium:

Peridium 15–20 µm wide, in medial longitudinal section composed of 3–5 layers of hyaline to slightly darkened elongated, angular cells 12–24 x 5–7 µm.

Beak:

Neck ca. 100–215 µm long, cylindrical, hyaline, periphysate, with outer wall of short divergent hyphae.

Hamathecium:

Hamathecium of abundant catenophyses; cells 42–50 x 20–25 µm.

Ascus:

Asci 100–284 x 38–125 µm, thin-walled, broadly clavate, persistent, swelling in water to become balloon shaped, ascus apex slightly thickened and flattened, with an apical pore; cytoplasm below the ascus apex retracted; containing eight irregularly arranged ascospores.

Ascospore:

Ascospores 32–40 x 14–18 µm (mean = 37 x 15 µm, n = 25), one-septate, hyaline, ellipsoidal, thick-walled; wall ca. 2 µm wide, with one large, and several smaller guttules in each cell

Sheath:

None observed.

Appendage:

None observed.

Culture:

Anamorph:

None observed.

Other info

Type & Location:

Hong Kong: New Territories, Tai Po, Lam Tsuen River, on submerged wood,27 Nov 1996, K.M. Tsui, KM127 (HKU(M) 4672).

Other Specimens:

USA. FLORIDA: Ocala National Forest, Bock Lake, 29°05'52"N, 81°39'11"W, water temperature 37 C, pH 6.5, on submerged decorticated woody debris, 15 July 2004, HAR and CB, F48-1; Lake Kerr, 29°21'19"N, 81°48'45"W, water temperature 21 C, pH 7, on submerged decorticated woody debris, 3 March 2005, HAR, ANM, and JLC, F48-5; Lake Eaton, 29°15'49"N, 81°52'11"W, water temperature 36 C, pH 7, on submerged herbaceous debris, 15 July 2006, HAR and JLC, F48-6; Big Cypress National Preserve, Cypress Swamp-loop Rd-2, Monroe County, 25°45'36"N, 81°02'07"W, water temperature 25 C, pH 8, on submerged decorticated woody debris, 22 March 2005, HAR and CB, F48-2.

Substratum:

Submerged woody and herbaceous debris.

Habitat:

Lentic, lotic.

Distribution:

Brunei, Hong Kong, Philippines, USA (Florida)

Pertinent Literature:

Tsui et al. 1998. Raja 2007

Comments:

The specimens from Florida fit well within the concept of Aniptodera and are similar to A. inflatiascigera K.M. Tsui, K.D. Hyde & I.J. Hodgkiss (Tsui et al 1997). Aniptopdera inflatiascigera can be distinguished from other members of the genus by its characteristic ascus, which inflates in water upon release from the ascomata. Apical appendages were not observed in the Florida specimen, but were reported for the type specimen (Tsui et al 1997). If the ballooning of the ascus in water is disregarded, the thick-walled ascospores of A. inflatiascigera resemble those of A. limnetica Shearer (Shearer 1989). Aniptodera inflatiascigera, however, has larger asci and ascospores compared to A. limnetica. Aniptodera inflatiascigera was found from central and south Florida on submerged decorticated woody debris as well as herbaceous debris from lentic habitats. These collections are the first reports from North America. In earlier studies, this fungus was reported from submerged decorticated wood in lotic habitats in the paleotropics (Tsui et al 1997, Hyde et al 1999, Tsui et al 2000, 2001).

Additional Pictures

Inflated ascus.
Ascus apex.
Inflated ascus.
Ascospore end channels.
Ascospores.
Ascospore delimiting membrane.

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