Fomitiporia castilloi sp. nov. and multiple clades around F. apiahyna and F. texana in Meso- and South America evidenced by multiloci phylogenetic inferences

Abstract

Fomitiporia castilloi sp. nov. from the lowland rainforest in French Guyana is described, illustrated and its phylogenetic affinities are discussed. This species is characterized by pileate basidiomata, a plicate margin, abundant, variably shaped hymenial setae and basidiospores averaging ≅ 6 × 5 μm. In phylogenetic inferences based on a DNA sequence dataset of four loci (5′ end of the LSU, ITS-5.8S, partial tef1 and rpb2), F. castilloi occupies an isolated position, basal to a clade that is composed exclusively of Neotropical species with resupinate basidiomata. The phylogenetic inferences also provide evidence of an unreported complexity within the Neotropical taxa, with multiple clades closely related to F. apiahyna and F. texana, representing additional potential species.

• biogeography
• Hymenochaetaceae
• Neotropics
• Phellinus sensu lato
• polypores

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support received from the FNRS/FRFC (convention FRFC 2.4544.10) that allowed fieldwork in French Guyana and from the Belgian Federal Science Policy through respectively the BCCM™ research program and an Interuniversity Attraction Poles Program (phase VI, contract P6/06). Mario Amalfi also acknowledges the financial support received from Wallonie-Bruxelles Federation through a travel grant to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Canada, and from UCL through a Fond Special de la Recherche scholarship. Specimens from Mexico were collected within the frame of the FNRS/CONACyT bilateral cooperation program. Specimens from the Lesser Antilles and fragments of specimens from the Guyana were kindly provided respectively by Dr Stephan Welti, University of Lille, France, and Dr Terry Henkel, Humboldt State University, USA. Cony Decock also thanks Dr Anne Corval, director of the CNRS Guyane, for granting authorization and facilities for field research at the Nouragues Inselberg CNRS forest plots and CNRS staff members in Cayenne and at the Nouragues Inselberg camp (namely Mrs Dorothée Deslignes, Mr Philippe Gaucher, Patrick Châtelet, Gilles Peroz, Wemo Betian). Thanks are extended also to Gerardo Robledo (CORD) for facilitating the study of the type of F. apiahyna, Jean-Marc Moncalvo (ROM) for his advices on the phylogenetic studies and Stéphanie Huret for her help with the sequencing program.