Ophiocordyceps sinocampes X. Zou, Zhong S. Xu & J. J. Qu, 2025

Ophiocordyceps sinocampes X. Zou, Zhong S. Xu & J. J. Qu sp. nov.

Fig. 2 View Figure 2

Synonym.

Hirsutella campes nom. invalid. X. Zou, J. J. Qu, Y. F. Han & Z. Q. Liang, Journal of Mountain Agriculture and Biology 40 (6): 1–12, 2021 (in Chinese).

Etymology.

The name sinocampes was derived from “ sino, ” referring to China, and “ campes ”, referring to the host in Latin, meaning caterpillar.

Holotype.

GZUIFR-2010 MC (Fig. 2 a View Figure 2 ), China • Guizhou Province: Kuankuoshui National Nature Reserve (28°6'36"N, 107°2'24"E). The specimen was found on the larva of Lepidoptera buried in soil, collected in July 2010 by X. Zou (ex-holotype: GZUIFR-2010 MC-1 ) (The GenBank accession number of ITS: PQ 765882; nrLSU: PQ 766190; tef: PQ 787212; rpb 2: PQ 787213). GoogleMaps

Host.

The larvae of Lepidoptera .

Description.

Stromata: Single, clavate, solid, lignified, yellow-brown, arising from the head of the host, 120–150 × 0.5–1.0 mm. Fertile part: Cylindrical, yellowish, about 5 cm long. Perithecia: Superficial, ovoid, 320–350 × 260–300 μm. Asci: Cylindrical, hyaline, 8 - spored, 130–210 × 4–6 μm, with the apex thickened to form a hemispherical ascus cap that is, measuring 5–5.5 × 3.2–4.0 μm. Ascospores: Filiform, hyaline, irregular, multi-septate, disarticulating into secondary ascospores, 4.5–11 × 1.5–2.0 µm.

Asexual morph: Hirsutella - like.

Colonies: The colony reaches 13–18 mm in diameter after two weeks on PDA at 22 ° C, appearing round with irregular swellings. The edge of the colony is fluffy, with a slight yellow protrusion in the middle and dark brown pigment secreted on the back, measuring approximately 10–15 mm in diameter. Hyphae: Hyaline, smooth-walled, septate, branched, 1.8–3.6 μm wide. Conidiogenous cells: Monophialidic, hyaline, smooth-walled, subulate, growing directly or laterally from hyphae, tapering gradually into a slender neck (21.6–38.4 µm long). The base width measures 2.4–4.8 µm, and the neck width measures 0.9–1.5 µm. Conidia: Hyaline, smooth, arising solitarily from the apex of conidiogenous cells, oval or orange-like shape, often enveloped in a mucous sheath, usually single, rarely aggregated in pairs or triplets (6–8.4 × 2.9–4.3 µm).

Distribution.

China, Guizhou Province: Zunyi and Xingyi City.

Additional specimens examined.

GZUIFR-2022 MLH-H 1 (Fig. 2 l View Figure 2 ), and its pure culture GZUIFR-2022 MLH-H 1 C , China. Guizhou Province: Malinghe Valley, Xingyi City (25°8'24"N, 104°57'36"E; altitude, 1068 m). These specimens were found on a larva of Coccoidea in soil, collected in July 2022 by Xiao Zou, Jiaojiao Qu, and Zhongshun Xu GoogleMaps .

Notes.

The basionym of O. sinocampes is H. campes , which was initially documented in the Journal of Mountain Agriculture and Biology (in Chinese) in 2021 (Table 2 View Table 2 ). Notably, the taxonomic validity of H. campes is compromised due to its description being solely in Chinese, which does not meet the requisite standards set forth by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN). According to the ICN, the descriptions of new species must be provided in English or Latin ( McNeill et al. 2012).

Furthermore, based on the priority under ICN, the genus Hirsutella has been considered as a synonym of the genus Ophiocordyceps ( Quandt et al. 2014) . Through morphological and five-gene phylogenetic analyses, it is more appropriate to assign this species to Ophiocordyceps . Since the name O. campes was already used by Tasanathai et al. (2020), we renamed our species as O. sinocampes .

In this study, we described the sexual stage, completing the species’ sexual and asexual stage descriptions. Additionally, a new specimen of this species was reported in the karst landform area — Malinghe Valley, Xingyi, enhancing our understanding of the species’ hosts and habitats.

O. sinocampes is closely related to O. multiperitheciata Tasan., Thanakitp., Khons. & Luangsa-ard ( Luangsa-ard et al. 2018) and H. strigosa ( Petch 1939) . Morphologically, O. sinocampes is similar to H. strigosa due to the long and base-inflated phialides, but it differs in having tapering phialides of O. sinocampes .