Samsoniella lurida J. Bu, K. D. Hyde & T. C. Wen, 2025

Samsoniella lurida J. Bu, K. D. Hyde & T. C. Wen sp. nov.

Fig. 5 View Figure 5

Etymology.

Referring to the pale stromata arising from the host, which is different from other species in Samsoniella .

Description.

Parasitic on cocoon of Lepidoptera. Sexual morph. Stromata 6.4–8.6 mm long, pale orange, cylindrical, unbranched or branched at base, arising from the head and end of the insect cocoon. Stipe cylindrical, pale orange, 0.4–0.8 mm wide. Fertile part clavate, pale orange, 2.5–3.1 × 0.6–1 mm, often with sterile tip (0.5–1.2 mm). The lateral sides had a longitudinal ditch without perithecia. Perithecia superficial, crowded, broadly ovoid, 205–455 × 144–274 µm (x ̄ = 319 × 198 µm, n = 15). Asci hyaline, cylindrical, 128–219 × 1.4–3.6 µm (x ̄ = 170 × 2.6 µm, n = 20). Ascus caps hemispherical, hyaline, 1.2–1.8 × 1.6–3 μm (x ̄ = 1.5 × 2.5 μm, n = 20). Ascospores filiform, hyaline, aseptate, 86–175 × 0.4–1 μm (x ̄ = 132 × 0.7 μm, n = 15) wide, do not disarticulate into part-spores. Asexual morph. Synnemata arising from the middle of the host, erect, single, 1.2 × 0.2–0.35 mm, producing a mass of floccose conidia at the apex. Hyphae smooth-walled, hyaline, septate, 1.5–3.6 µm (x ̄ = 2.5 µm, n = 30) wide. Conidiophores smooth-walled, cylindrical, verticillate, 2.3–9.1 × 1.9–2.9 µm (x ̄ = 4.9 × 2.3 µm, n = 15). Phialides verticillate, in whorls of two to five, lageniform, 4.2–7.3 µm (x ̄ = 5.7 µm, n = 30) long, basal portion cylindrical, tapering abruptly toward the apex, from 1.7–2.5 µm (x ̄ = 2.1 µm, n = 30) wide (base) to 0.5–0.9 µm (x ̄ = 0.7 µm, n = 30) wide (apex). Conidia smooth-walled, hyaline, fusiform, 1.9–2.7 × 1.1–1.9 µm (x ̄ = 2.3 × 1.4 µm, n = 30).

Type.

China • Yunnan Province, Kunming City, Panlong District, the Longchuanqiao Forest Park (25°17'05.26"N, 102°78'07.88"E, alt. 1963.9 m), on a lepidopteran cocoon buried in soil, 20 September 2023, Jing Bu, LCQ 2023092034 B (holotype HKAS 144387 ) .

Additional materials examined.

China • Yunnan Province, Kunming, Xishan District, Tuanjie Country (25°08'61.38"N, 102°46'11.71"E, alt. 1971.2 m) on lepidopteran larva buried in soil, 17 October 2023, Jing Bu, MLSX 2023101741 B ( HKAS 144388 , living culture KUNCC 24-18534 ) .

Notes.

Phylogenetic analyses revealed that two specimens of Samsoniella lurida ( HKAS 144387 and HKAS 144388 ) are closely related to S. kunmingensis and S. tortricidae (Fig. 2 View Figure 2 ). Morphological comparisons demonstrate distinct characteristics among these species. S. kunmingensis and S. tortricidae produce larger, brightly coloured, multi-branched stromata with oblong-ovate to fusiform perithecia; S. lurida is characterised by pallid stromata and broadly ovoid perithecia (Table 3 View Table 3 ). Furthermore, S. lurida possesses a unique sterile tip, a feature not observed in other known Samsoniella species. Sequence comparisons between S. lurida and S. kunmingensis showed that there are 8 bp differences within 943 bp 3 P _ TEF and 12 bp differences within 979 bp rpb 2. S. lurida differs from S. tortricidae by 10 bp within 943 bp 3 P _ TEF and 11 bp within 979 bp rpb 2. Both morphological characters and molecular analyses support this fungus as a new species in Samsoniella ( Jeewon and Hyde 2016) .