The Mucoraceae are a
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 ...
of
fungi
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 ...
of the order
Mucorales
The Mucorales is the largest and best-studied order of zygomycete fungi. Members of this order are sometimes called pin molds. The term mucormycosis is now preferred for infections caused by molds belonging to the order Mucorales.
Systematic ...
, characterized by having the
thallus
Thallus (: thalli), from Latinized Greek (), meaning "a green shoot" or "twig", is the vegetative tissue of some organisms in diverse groups such as algae, fungi, some liverworts, lichens, and the Myxogastria. A thallus usually names the entir ...
not segmented or ramified.
Pathogen
In biology, a pathogen (, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of"), in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a Germ theory of d ...
ic genera include ''
Absidia
''Absidia'' is a genus of fungi in the family Cunninghamellaceae. ''Absidia'' species are ubiquitous in most environments where they are often associated with warm decaying plant matter, such as compost heaps. Some species in the genus can caus ...
'', ''
Apophysomyces'', ''
Mucor
''Mucor'' is a microbial genus of approximately 40 species of molds and dimorphic fungi in the family Mucoraceae. The genus includes both pathogenic and avirulent species, and some members of it can be utilized in biotechnical applications. ...
'', ''
Rhizomucor'', and ''
Rhizopus
''Rhizopus'' is a genus of common saprophytic fungi on plants and specialized parasites on animals. They are found in a wide variety of organic substances, including "mature fruits and vegetables", jellies, syrups, leather, bread, peanuts, and t ...
''. According to a 2008 estimate, the family contains 25
genera
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...
and 129 species.
[
]
Genera
The family consists of the following genera:
* '' Actinomucor''
* '' Apophysomyces''
* '' Benjaminiella''
* '' Chaetocladium''
* '' Circinella''
* '' Cokeromyces''
* '' Dicranophora''
* '' Ellisomyces''
* ''Helicostylum
''Helicostylum'' is a genus of two species of fungi in the family Mucoraceae
The Mucoraceae are a family of fungi of the order Mucorales, characterized by having the thallus not segmented or ramified. Pathogenic genera include ''Absidia'', '' ...
''
* '' Hyphomucor''
* '' Kirkomyces''
* ''Mucor
''Mucor'' is a microbial genus of approximately 40 species of molds and dimorphic fungi in the family Mucoraceae. The genus includes both pathogenic and avirulent species, and some members of it can be utilized in biotechnical applications. ...
''
* '' Parasitella''
* '' Pilaira''
* '' Pilophora''
* '' Pirella''
* '' Rhizomucor''
* '' Rhizopodopsis''
* ''Rhizopus
''Rhizopus'' is a genus of common saprophytic fungi on plants and specialized parasites on animals. They are found in a wide variety of organic substances, including "mature fruits and vegetables", jellies, syrups, leather, bread, peanuts, and t ...
''
* '' Sporodiniella''
* '' Syzygites''
* '' Thamnidium''
* '' Thermomucor''
* '' Zygorhynchus''
References
Zygomycota
Taxa named by Barthélemy Charles Joseph Dumortier
{{Zygomycota-stub