''Coprinopsis'' is a

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 ...

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the n ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Psathyrellaceae The Psathyrellaceae are a family of dark-spored agarics that generally have rather soft, fragile fruiting bodies, and are characterized by black, dark brown, rarely reddish, or even pastel-colored spore prints. About 50% of species produce frui ...

.' ''Coprinopsis'' was split out of the genus '' Coprinus'' based on molecular data. The species '' Coprinopsis cinerea'' is a model organism for mushroom-forming

basidiomycota Basidiomycota () is one of two large divisions that, together with the Ascomycota, constitute the subkingdom Dikarya (often referred to as the "higher fungi") within the kingdom Fungi. Members are known as basidiomycetes. More specifically, Basi ...

, and its

genome A genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding genes, other functional regions of the genome such as ...

has recently been sequenced completely.

Taxonomy

The genus was described in 1881 by the Finnish mycologist

Petter Adolf Karsten Petter Adolf Karsten (16 February 1834 – 22 March 1917) was a Finland, Finnish mycology, mycologist, the foremost expert on the fungi of Finland in his day, and known in consequence as the "father of Finnish mycology". Karsten was born in Merim ...

with the type species '' Coprinopsis friesii'' and '' C. phaeospora'' placed within it, both having formerly been classified as ''Coprinus'' species. Karsten stopped using the ''Coprinopsis'' genus name by 1889 and in 1887 it was considered a subgenus of ''Coprinus'' by

Narcisse Théophile Patouillard Narcisse Théophile Patouillard (2 July 1854 – 30 March 1926) was a French pharmacist and mycologist. He was born in Macornay, a town in the department of Jura (department), Jura. He studied in Besançon, then furthered his education at the ...

. The genus name ''Coprinopsis'' was revived in 2001 when phylogenetic analysis was used to classify and rearrange species within the ''Coprinus'' genus. ''Coprinopsis'' was considered to be an advantageous name to use for the genus due to using the same root word as ''Coprinus.'' Despite the name however many of these species are not associated with dung and the type species itself was described as growing from dry grass on the edge of woodland.

Etymology

''Coprinopsis'' derives from the Greek ''kóprinos'' meaning dung and the Greek suffix ''ópsis''. This refers to the similarity to ''Coprinus'' species.

Selected species

''For complete list see'' List of ''Coprinopsis'' species * '' Coprinopsis acuminata'' (humpback inkcap) * ''

Coprinopsis atramentaria ''Coprinopsis atramentaria'', commonly known as the common ink cap, tippler's bane, or inky cap, is a species of fungus. Previously known as ''Coprinus atramentarius'', it is the second best-known ink cap and previous member of the genus '' ...

'' (common inkcap) * '' Coprinopsis episcopalis'' (mitre inkcap) * '' Coprinopsis jonesii'' (bonfire inkcap) * '' Coprinopsis lagopus'' (hare's foot inkcap) * '' Coprinopsis nivea'' (snowy inkcap) * '' Coprinopsis picacea'' (magpie inkcap) * '' Coprinopsis variegata'' (the scaly ink cap or the feltscale inky cap)

References

Agaricales genera {{Psathyrellaceae-stub