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ABSTRACT
The new genus Endostelium belongs in the family Protostelidae of the order Protostelida in the class Mycetozoa. The type species, E. amerosporum, was discovered in Papua, New Guinea, and its two varieties, E. amerosporum var. medium and var. minus, were found in Saint John Virgin Island, West Indies. The previously described Protostelium zonatum is reclassified as Endostelium zonatum. All species and varieties have been found on dead attached plant parts. All members of the new genus are characterized by having stalks of the fruiting bodies developing within the rising sporogens, with lines of particles within the stalks which develop from cytoplasmic materials deposited through the apex of each enclosed developing stalk area. The spores and amoebae are surrounded by scabrous sheath material that often contains bacteria. The sheaths of E. zonatum are generally thinner than those of E. amerosporum. When the sheath disappears from an amoeba, the filose pseudopodia characteristic of protostelids become more conspicuous.