''Leucocoprinus dunensis'' is a species of

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 ...

-producing

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

Agaricaceae The Agaricaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi and include the genus ''Agaricus'', as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae. Taxonomy The family Agaricaceae was publishe ...

Taxonomy

It was described in 2023 by the mycologists Salomé Urrea‑Valencia, Rodolfo Bizarria Júnior, Pepijn W. Kooij, Quimi Vidaurre Montoya and Andre Rodrigues who conducted a study on fungal species cultivated by lower attine ants which described the new species ''Leucocoprinus dunensis'' and '' L. attinorum''.

Description

''Leucocoprinus dunensis'' is a fungus cultivated by '' Mycetophylax morschi'' ants. Cap: 3.5-4cm wide, starting campanulate before expanding to applanate with age. The surface is covered with small light brown scales towards the margin with a solid brown centre disc. The margins are sometimes striated. Gills: Free with a collar, crowded and whitish with a fimbriate edge. Stem: 3-7cm long and 2-5mm thick without a significantly bulbous base. The surface is brownish orange and covered in fine fibrils. The ascendant stem ring is white and is located towards the top of the stem (superior). Spore print: Pale white. Spores: 7-8 (9) x 5-6 μm. Amygdaliform in side view and ellipsoidal in front view. Smooth, thick walled with an inconspicuous germ pore. Hyaline with no colour change in KOH. Congophilous, dextrinoid, metachromatic in cresyl blue. Basidia: 20-22 x 10 μm. Clavate, 2 to 4-spored, hyaline.

Etymology

The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''dunensis'' is named in reference to the dune ecosystem in which ''Mycetophylax morschi'' lives.

Habitat and distribution

The species is cultivated by the fungus farming ant species ''Mycetophylax morschi'', which is found in the sandy

restinga Restingas () are a distinct type of coastal tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forest in eastern Brazil. They form on sandy, acidic, and nutrient-poor soils, and are characterized by medium-sized trees and shrubs adapted to the drier and n ...

forests of Brazil.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q124652053 Fungi described in 2023 Fungus species Leucocoprinus