Coniella dongshanlingensis D. H. Li, J. W. Xia & X. G. Zhang, 2025

Coniella dongshanlingensis D. H. Li, J. W. Xia & X. G. Zhang sp. nov.

Fig. 3 View Figure 3

Holotype.

China • Hainan Province: Dongshanling Scenic Area , on diseased leaves of Lygodium circinnatum ( Lygodiaceae ), 18.802153°N, 110.421473°E, 18.8 m asl., 26 Mar. 2024, D. H. Li, holotype HSAUP 7265-5 , ex-type living culture SAUCC 7265-5 = CGMCC 3.27785 GoogleMaps .

Etymology.

Named after the collection site of the type specimen, Dongshanling Scenic Area.

Description.

Hypha superficial, 1.1–3.2 μm wide, less branched, multi-septate, hyaline to pale yellow. Asexual morph: Conidiomata pycnidial to nearly spherical, separate, superficial, surface enveloped in a gelatinous sheath, sizes inconsistent, initially appearing hyaline, becoming black with mature. Conidiophores cylindrical, aseptate, straight or slightly curved, densely aggregated, simple, smooth, usually reduced to conidiogenous cells. Conidiogenous cells phialidic, simple, aggregative, hyaline, smooth, 7.3–19.2 × 1.5–3.3 μm (mean ± SD = 12.6 ± 2.6 × 2.4 ± 0.5 μm, n = 30), with apical periclinal thickening, blastospore at the apex. Conidia elliptical to fusiform, apices tapering, subobtuse, apically rounded, bases tapering to a truncate hilum, immature conidia hyaline, multi-guttulate, mature conidia olivaceous, 1–2 guttulate, wall darker than olivaceous body of conidium, smooth, 7.8–10 × 5.1–7 μm (mean ± SD = 8.7 ± 0.6 × 6.2 ± 0.4 μm, n = 30). Sexual morph unknown.

Culture characteristics.

Colonies on PDA after 14 days of cultivation in the dark at 25 ° C, reaching 47–50 mm in diam., with a growth rate of 3.4–3.6 mm / day; from above: white to pale orange with age, medium aerial mycelium, circular, slightly low at the center, slightly higher at the edges; reverse: similar in color. Colonies on OA covering entire plate after 14 days of cultivation in the dark at 25 ° C; from above: pale orange, interspersed with extensive black pycnidia, medium aerial mycelium, flat; reverse: similar in color.

Additional material studied.

China • Hainan Province: Dongshanling Scenic Area , on diseased leaves of Lygodium circinnatum ( Lygodiaceae ), 18.802153°N, 110.421473°E, 18.8 m asl., 26 Mar. 2024, D. H. Li, HSAUP 7265-6 , living culture SAUCC 7265-6 GoogleMaps .

Notes.

Phylogenetic analyses showed that Coniella dongshanlingensis formed an independent clade (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 ) and was closely related to C. fujianensis ( CGMCC 3.25353 and CGMCC 3.25354 ). Coniella dongshanlingensis was distinguished from C. fujianensis ( CGMCC 3.25354 ) by 5 / 589, 9 / 657, and 19 / 306 base-pair differences in ITS, rpb 2, and tef 1 - α sequences, respectively. Morphologically, the conidiogenous cells of C. dongshanlingensis (7.3–19.2 × 1.5–3.3 μm) are longer than those of C. fujianensis (3.5–8 × 2.5–3.5 μm); the conidia of C. dongshanlingensis (7.8–10 × 5.1–7 μm) slightly shorter than those of C. fujianensis (8–10.5 × 5.5–7.5 μm), and the mature conidial color of C. dongshanlingensis (olivaceous) is lighter than that of C. fujianensis (brown) ( Mu et al. 2024). Therefore, we describe our collection as a novel species.