Laboulbeniales on millipedes: the genera Diplopodomyces and Troglomyces

Abstract

The genera Diplopodomyces and Troglomyces (Laboulbeniales, Ascomycota) parasitizing millipedes (Diplopoda) are reviewed. We describe four new species: D. lusitanipodos parasitic on Lusitanipus from Portugal and on Cyphocallipus from Spain, D. veneris on Lusitanipus from Portugal, T. botryandrus on Leptoiulus from Italy and T. rossii on Ophyiulus, Leptoiulus and Typhloiulus from Italy. Diplopodomyces veneris is a dimorphic species, with different morphotypes growing on the male copulatory organs and on the surroundings of the female gonopore respectively. The type species of both genera also have been studied, their descriptions are revised and a neotype for T. manfrediae is designated. New records from Italy are given for D. callipodos and T. manfrediae.

• Ascomycota
• caves
• Iberian Peninsula
• Italy
• parasitic fungi

Acknowledgments

This study was supported partially by the SYNTHESYS Project, financed by European Community Research Infrastructure Action under the FP7 Capacities Program (Ref. DK-TAF-2416), and by Fauna Ibérica X (Ref. CGL2010-22267-C07-01), which let A.R. visit the Natural History Museum of Denmark. We express our gratitude for the support in the fieldwork to the Speleological group of the University of Aveiro (NEUA) and to the Grupo Protecção Sicó; for all kinds of help during A.R.’s stay in Copenhagen to Nesrine Akkari and David Koon-Bong Cheung; for reviewing the manuscript and for the loan of a few slides included in the present paper, especially those described as Troglomyces rossii, to Walter Rossi (University of L’Aquila, Italy); for supplying specimens of millipedes bearing Laboulbeniales to Erminio Piva (Vicenza, Italy), Lucio Bonato (University of Padova, Italy) and José Domingo Gilgado (University of Alcalá, Spain). All Portuguese specimens were collected under permits of the Instituto de Conservação da Natureza e da Biodiversidade.