''Climacodon sanguineus'' is a rare species of
tooth fungus
The hydnoid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota with basidiocarps (fruit bodies) producing spores on pendant, tooth-like or spine-like projections. They are colloquially called tooth fungi. Originally such fungi were referred to the ge ...
in the family
Phanerochaetaceae
The Phanerochaetaceae are a family of mostly crust fungi in the order Polyporales.
Taxonomy
Phanerochaetaceae was first conceived by Swedish mycologist John Eriksson in 1958 as the subfamily Phanerochaetoideae of the Corticiaceae. It was later ...
that is found in Africa.
Taxonomy
The fungus was originally
described as ''Hydnum sanguineum'' by Belgian mycologist
Maurice Beeli
Maurice Philippe Gaspard Beeli (21 October 1879, St-Gilles-lez-Bruxelles – 17 March 1957) was a Belgian mycologist.
For more than thirty years, being encouraged by Émile De Wildeman and Walter Robyns, successive directors of the National Bo ...
in 1926. 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 ...
collection was made near
Kalo, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Rudolph Arnold Maas Geesteranus
Rudolf Arnold Maas Geesteranus (20 January 1911 in The Hague – 18 May 2003 in Oegstgeest), was a Dutch mycologist whose work on both ascomycetes and basidiomycetes helped to refine fungal taxonomy over a career of nearly six decades.
Early li ...
transferred the species to genus ''
Climacodon
''Climacodon'' is a widespread genus of hydnoid fungi, tooth fungi in the family Phanerochaetaceae.
Taxonomy
The genus was circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed by Finnish mycologist Petter Karsten in 1881 with ''Climacodon septentrionalis'' ...
'' in 1971.
Phylogenetic
In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...
data shows that ''C. sanguineus'' forms a well-supported
clade
In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...
with the
type species
In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...
of ''
Climacodon
''Climacodon'' is a widespread genus of hydnoid fungi, tooth fungi in the family Phanerochaetaceae.
Taxonomy
The genus was circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed by Finnish mycologist Petter Karsten in 1881 with ''Climacodon septentrionalis'' ...
'', '' C. septentrionale'', which nests in the Phlebioid clade.
Description
The bright red, funnel-shaped
fruit bodies
The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cyc ...
of this fungus are up to tall. They have sharp, cylindrical spines on the underside of the
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...
. ''C. sanguineus'' has a monomitic
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 ...
l system, containing only generative hyphae. These hyphae have a
septum
In biology, a septum (Latin language, Latin for ''something that encloses''; septa) is a wall, dividing a Body cavity, cavity or structure into smaller ones. A cavity or structure divided in this way may be referred to as septate.
Examples
Hum ...
; some of the hyphae comprising the cap and in the core of the spines have
clamps
Clamp may refer to:
Tools and devices
*Brick clamp, an early method of baking bricks
*Clamp (tool), a device or tool used to hold objects in a fixed relative position (many types listed)
**C-clamp
**C-clamp (stagecraft)
**Riser clamp, a device u ...
. The
cystidia
A cystidium (: cystidia) is a relatively large cell found on the sporocarp of a basidiomycete (for example, on the surface of a mushroom gill), often between clusters of basidia. Since cystidia have highly varied and distinct shapes that are o ...
, which are scattered on the surface on the spines (the
spore-bearing surface), are double-walled with a discontinuous internal
lumen. The
spores
In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...
are
ellipsoid
An ellipsoid is a surface that can be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional Scaling (geometry), scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation.
An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a Surface (mathemat ...
in shape,
translucent
In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable light scattering by particles, scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale ...
, and measure 4–5 by 2–2.5
μm
The micrometre (Commonwealth English as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American English), also commonly known by the non-SI term micron, is a unit of length in the International System ...
.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q55607787
Fungi described in 1926
Fungi of Africa
Phanerochaetaceae
Fungus species