Xenopleopunctum J. Y. Zhang, Y. Z. Lu & K. D. Hyde, 2025

Xenopleopunctum J. Y. Zhang, Y. Z. Lu & K. D. Hyde gen. nov.

Etymology.

The genus name refers to the similar genus Pleopunctum .

Type species.

Xenopleopunctum guizhouense J. Y. Zhang, Y. Z. Lu & K. D. Hyde .

Description.

Sexual morph: Undetermined. Asexual morph: Hyphomycetous. Colonies on natural substrate effuse, superficial, scattered to gregarious, sporodochial, punctiform, brown to black. Mycelium partly immersed, partly superficial, composed of branched, septate, hyaline to brown hyphae. Conidiophores micro- to macronematous, mononematous, cylindrical, brown, often reduced to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells monoblastic, integrated, terminal, cylindrical, thick-walled, brown. Conidia acrogenous, mostly oval to ellipsoidal, muriform, constricted at septa, brown to dark brown, sometime slightly darked at the upper part, clearly darked at the septum, paler at the base, often with a cylindrical to subglobose, hyaline basal cell.

Notes.

Xenopleopunctum is introduced as a new genus to accommodate taxa exhibiting pleopunctum-like asexual morphology. Xenopleopunctum resembles Pleopunctum in having punctiform, brown colonies, monoblastic conidiogenous cells, and muriform, oval to ellipsoidal, dematiaceous conidia with a hyaline basal cell ( Taylor and Hyde 2003; Liu et al. 2019; Yang et al. 2023). However, they are phylogenetically distinct, with Pleopunctum belonging to Phaeoseptaceae and Xenopleopunctum being sister to Pseudomassarinaceae , but not belonging to any existing family.