''Myrmecopterula velohortorum'' 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 ...

''. 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. velohortorum'' was originally classified as ''Pterula velohortorum'' by the American mycologist

Bryn Tjader Mason Dentinger Bryn is a Welsh word meaning hill. It may also refer to: Places United Kingdom England * Bryn, Cheshire, a location * Bryn, Greater Manchester ** Bryn (ward), an electoral ward in Wigan ** Bryn railway station * Bryn, Shropshire, a location ...

in 2014. Before being formally classified it was referred to in studies on fungus growing ants as ant cultivar G2 and was found in ant nests belonging to the ''Apterostigma'' ''dentigerum'' subclade. It was placed in the new 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 ...

'' by the mycologists Caio A. Leal-Dutra,

and Gareth W. Griffith in 2020.

Description

''M. velohortorum'' is cultivated in hanging 'veiled gardens' where the mycelium forms a thin envelope which surrounds the fungal garden. Gardens are found hanging under logs or inside cavities within them or rarely found in cavities in the ground. A single hole may exist in the veil serving as the entrance to the nest. It is hypothesized that ''M. velohortorum'' descended from ''M. nudihortorum'' with the two species then taking different evolutionary paths due to co-evolving with ants engaged in varying behaviors. Such as the weaving of mycelial threads to produce the veil which the ants are hypothesized to engage in.

Similar species

Myrmecopterula moniliformis ''Myrmecopterula moniliformis'' is a species of fungus in the family ''Pterulaceae'' and is the type species of the genus ''Myrmecopterula''. It is associated with fungi cultivating ants of the genus ''Apterostigma.'' Taxonomy ''M. monil ...

'' and ''

Myrmecopterula nudihortorum ''Myrmecopterula nudihortorum'' is a species of fungus in the family ''Pterulaceae''. It is associated with fungi cultivating ants of the genus ''Apterostigma.'' Taxonomy ''M. nudihortorum'' was originally classified as ''Pterula nudihort ...

'' 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.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q113026306 Pterulaceae Fungus species