Cantharellaceae of Guyana I: new species, combinations and distribution records of Craterellus and a synopsis of known taxa

Abstract

Members of the Cantharellaceae (Cantharellales, Basidiomycota) are common ectomycorrhizal associates of the leguminous genus Dicymbe in the Pakaraima Mountains of Guyana. Eight distinct species or morphospecies currently are recognized in Craterellus Pers. or Cantharellus Adans. ex Fr. from Guyanese Dicymbe-dominated forests. We evaluated the systematics of these taxa with phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data from the nuclear ribosomal regions of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 28S large subunit (LSU). The results of these analyses along with careful assessment of morphology let us described two new species, Craterellus atratoides sp. nov. and Craterellus strigosus sp. nov., redescribe Craterellus atratus (Corner) Yomyart et al. based on new material from Guyana, and propose a new combination in Craterellus for Cantharellus pleurotoides T.W. Henkel, Aime & S.L. Mill. Macroscopic illustrations are provided for two additional cantharelloid morphospecies confirmed in Craterellus, as well as the regionally endemic Cantharellus guyanensis Mont. Macromorphological, micromorphological and habitat data are provided for C. atratoides, C. strigosus and C. atratus, and ITS and LSU sequence data are provided for each of the eight known Guyanese taxa.

• Cantharellaceae
• chanterelles
• Dicymbe
• ectomycorrhiza
• Guiana Shield
• tropical fungi

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the following for financial support: National Science Foundation DEB-0918591, the National Geographic Society’s Committee for Research and Exploration to TWH, NSF DEB-0732968 to MCA, and the Chicago Botanic Garden for molecular analysis.

Dillon Husbands functioned as Guyanese local counterpart and assisted with field collecting, descriptions and specimen processing. Additional field assistance in Guyana was provided by M. Chin, C. Andrew, V. Joseph, P. Joseph, F. Edmond, and L. Edmond. Jessie K. Uehling provided the line drawings. Roy Watling provided helpful discussions of the taxa and access to Corner’s specimens at E. Ron Petersen provided access to specimens at TENN. Two anonymous reviewers provided very useful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. Research permits were granted by the Guyana Environmental Protection Agency. This paper is No. 190 in the Smithsonian Institution’s Biological Diversity of the Guiana Shield Program publication series.