''Columnodontia'' is a fungal

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

in the family

Meruliaceae The Meruliaceae are a family of fungi in the order Polyporales. According to a 2008 estimate, the family contains 47 genera and 420 species. , Index Fungorum accepts 645 species in the family. Taxonomy The family was formally circumscribed by E ...

. A

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus, it contains the single species ''Columnodontia resupinata'', a toothed

crust fungus The corticioid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota typically having effused, smooth basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the undersides of dead tree trunks or branches. They are sometimes colloquially called crust fungi or pa ...

found in

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

. Both the species and genus were described as new to science by Swiss mycologist Walter Jülich in 1979. The main distinguishing characteristic of the genus is the glistening, projecting columns of crystals that make up the spines. Jülich originally included three species in addition to the type: '' Columnodontia columellifera'', '' C. lutea'', and '' C. subfascicularis''. These have since been transferred to the genera ''

Phlebia ''Phlebia'' is a genus of mostly crust fungi in the family Meruliaceae. The genus has a widespread distribution. ''Phlebia'' species cause white rot. Taxonomy ''Phlebia'' was circumscribed by Swedish mycologist Elias Fries in his 1821 work ...

'' and '' Mycoacia''.

References

Taxa described in 1979 Meruliaceae Monotypic Polyporales genera {{Polyporales-stub