''Myrmecopterula moniliformis'' is a species of

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 ''

Pterulaceae The ''Pterulaceae'' are a family (biology), family of fungi in the order Agaricales. According to a 2008 estimate, the family contained 99 species previously distributed among 12 genus, genera. More recent data from molecular phylogenetic reconst ...

'' and is 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 the genus ''

Myrmecopterula ''Myrmecopterula'' is a genus of fungi in the family Pterulaceae. Basidiocarps are clavarioid and are associated with ant domestication by members of the genus ''Apterostigma''. Taxonomy ''Myrmecopterula'' was created in 2020 when the ''Pteru ...

''. It is associated with fungi cultivating ants of the genus ''

Apterostigma ''Apterostigma'' is a genus of New World ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae. Two species have been described from fossils preserved in Dominican amber, while the others are extant. They are fungus-growing ants, though, unlike the majority of othe ...

.''

Taxonomy

''M. moniliformis'' was originally classified as ''Lachnocladium moniliforme'' by the German mycologist

Paul Christoph Hennings Paul Christoph Hennings (November 27, 1841 – October 14, 1908) was a German mycologist and herbarium curator. He discovered the study of cryptogams and mushrooms as a volunteer at the botanical garden. Although circumstances initially prevente ...

in 1904. It was classified as ''Thelephora clavarioides'' by the Portuguese mycologist Camille Torrend in 1914. It was reclassified as ''Pterula moniliformis'' by the English mycologist

Edred John Henry Corner Edred John Henry Corner FRS (12 January 1906 – 14 September 1996) was an English mycologist and botanist who occupied the posts of assistant director at the Singapore Botanic Gardens (1929–1946) and Professor of Tropical Botany at the Un ...

in 1952. The genus ''Myrmecopterula'' was created in 2020 by the mycologists Leal-Dutra, Bryn Tjader Mason Dentinger & G.W. Griff when a major new reclassification took place of the ''

'' family based on

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 ...

analysis.

Description

''M. moniliformis'' produces two distinct forms of mushrooms. The first type resemble irregular strings of beads similar in appearance to some rhizomes produced by plants. These are sterile and lack an active

hymenium The hymenium is the tissue layer on the hymenophore of a fungal fruiting body where the cells develop into basidia or asci, which produce spores. In some species all of the cells of the hymenium develop into basidia or asci, while in oth ...

to produce spores. The second type are fertile branching coral structures which are more typical of mushrooms produced by other species in the ''

'' family. These forms may grow separately or together with fertile coral forms branching off from the infertile beads. The presence of fertile mushrooms means that ''M. moniliformis'' is capable of reproducing and surviving without the ants which separates it from the other two named species in this genus ''M. nudihortorum'' and ''M. velohortorum'' which appear to be reliant on ant domestication and have not been documented as producing fertile fruiting bodies. One hypothesis for the presence of fertile fruiting bodies in ''M. moniliformis'' is that it may have descended from a lineage of ant-domesticated fungi which escaped from cultivation to become free-living fungi. The presence of the sterile mushrooms may be a genetic relic from previous cultivation as this mutation is detrimental to non-domesticated fungi.

Etymology

''Myrmecopterula'' is derived from the Greek ''Myrmex'' meaning ant as in

Myrmecology Myrmecology (; from Greek: μύρμηξ, ''myrmex'', "ant" and λόγος, ''logos'', "study") is a branch of entomology focusing on the study of ants. Ants continue to be a model of choice for the study of questions on the evolution of social ...

, the study of ants. ''Monile'' is Latin for necklace and ''liformis'' is a Latin suffix for shape or form so 'necklace shaped'. This is a reference to the bead like shapes formed by the infertile fruiting bodies. Myrmecopterula moniliformis 2

Similar species

'' Myrmecopterula nudihortorum'' and '' Myrmecopterula velohortorum'' are the only other named species belonging to the genus ''Myrmecopterula.''These are also associated with cultivation by

ants. Four other unnamed and poorly documented ''Myrmecopterula'' species are known.

Habitat and distribution

''Myrmecopterula'' species are found in the

neotropics The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeog ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

and are usually found growing on top of living or dead ant nests or being cultivated by ants. Some species of ''Myrmecopterula'' grow from soil whilst others appear to grow from wood however closer inspection reveals that rather than using the wood itself as a substrate they are instead found growing from loose debris within cavities in the wood. This substrate is sometimes similar in appearance to that of the fungal gardens of Apterostigma pilosum group ants, which have been documented cultivating ''Myrmecopterula'' species. ''M. moniliformis'' is documented as growing from soil but has also been observed emerging from active and inactive ant nests. It is hypothesized that this species may be involved in residual decomposition of substrates in abandoned ant nests or even act as a mycoparasite of the cultivated fungus. The ''

Apterostigma pilosum ''Apterostigma'' is a genus of New World ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae. Two species have been described from fossils preserved in Dominican amber, while the others are extant. They are fungus-growing ants, though, unlike the majority of other ...

'' species itself has a distribution that covers parts of South America, Central America and Mexico this helps to understand the potential distribution of ''Myrmecopterula'' species. Due to some species of this genus being reliant upon ants and not producing mushrooms, observations are uncommon and would depend on observing the nests themselves. However, as ''M. moniliformis'' produces both fertile and infertile mushrooms and can grow without the ants observations of fruiting bodies can be made which place the distribution around Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and Bolivia

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q113003655 Pterulaceae Fungus species