''Capronia cogtii'' is a rare species of lichenicolous (

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

-dwelling)

fungus A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

in the family Herpotrichiellaceae. Found in northern Mongolia, it was described as a new species in 2019.

Taxonomy

''Capronia cogtii'' belongs to the fungal family Herpotrichiellaceae and is characterized by its

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from , and . Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is named after its glassy appearance on fresh gross pathology. On light microscopy of H&E stained slides, the extracellula ...

ascospores, which distinguish it from most other '' Capronia'' species that have pigmented ascospores. The new species is most similar to '' C. amylacea'', '' C. hypotrachynae'', '' C. normandinae'', and '' C. pseudonormandinae'', but can be distinguished by its smaller

ascomata An ascocarp, or ascoma (: ascomata), is the fruiting body (sporocarp (fungi), sporocarp) of an ascomycete phylum fungus. It consists of very tightly interwoven hyphae and millions of embedded ascus, asci, each of which typically contains four to ...

, longer hyaline ascospores, and different

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...

genus, '' Vahliella'' ( Vahliellaceae), compared to '' Peltigera'' ( Peltigeraceae). The

species epithet Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany) ...

''cogtii'' was given in honor of the late Professor Ulzii Cogt, who was a prominent figure in Mongolian lichenology.

Description

The vegetative

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one o ...

e of ''Capronia cogtii'' are pale brown, 2–3.5 μm wide,

septate In biology, a septum (Latin for ''something that encloses''; septa) is a wall, dividing a cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate. Examples Human anatomy * Interatrial se ...

, and ramify from the lower parts of the . The

are , blackish, more or less glossy, roughly spherical to ovoid, and occasionally shortly at the apex. They are above, ostiolate, 90–150 μm in diameter, and have a rough surface. The setae are dark brown, straight, not branched, 15–60 μm tall, 4–5 μm wide at base, and arise from a discrete dark foot-cell. The exciple is made of medium to dark brown cells outwardly, and somewhat hyaline, strongly elongated, radially compressed cells inwardly. The are hyaline, measure 10–20 by 2–3 μm, septate, and are not branched. The ascospores are hyaline, to very narrowly , and typically have 3 transverse septa (sometimes as few as 1 or as many or 5). They are usually constricted at the septa, smooth-walled, and overlappingly crowded in the

ascus An ascus (; : asci) is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in ascomycete fungi. Each ascus usually contains eight ascospores (or octad), produced by meiosis followed, in most species, by a mitotic cell division. However, asci in some gen ...

Habitat and distribution

''Capronia cogtii'' is known only from the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

, which was collected on the

thallus Thallus (: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. A thallus usually names the entir ...

of '' Vahliella leucophaea'' and occasionally on adjacent decaying mosses in sparse ''

Larix sibirica ''Larix sibirica'', the Siberian larch or Russian larch, is a frost-hardy tree native to western Russia, from close to the Finnish border east to the Yenisei valley in central Siberia, where it hybridises with the Dahurian larch ''L. gmelinii ...

'' mountain forest in northern Mongolia. The host lichen, ''Vahliella leucophaea'', is morphologically similar to some species of

Pannariaceae The Pannariaceae are a family of lichens in the order Peltigerales (suborder Collematineae). Species from this family have a widespread distribution, but are especially prevalent in southern temperate In geography, the temperate clima ...

and has long been placed in this family. This is the first species of ''Capronia'' known to grow on members of Vahliellaceae. Two ''Capronia'' species are known to grow on Pannariaceae hosts, '' C. magellanica'', growing on species of '' Fuscopannaria'', and '' C. paranectrioides'', growing on species of '' Erioderma''. ''Capronia cogtii'' is also similar to '' C. andina'' and '' C. solitaria'' but can be distinguished by its hyaline ascospores and larger ascomata, respectively.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107547628 Chaetothyriales Lichenicolous fungi Fungi described in 2019 Fungi of Asia Taxa named by Mikhail Petrovich Zhurbenko Fungus species