Arthrobotrys luzhangensis Y.Q Yang & X.Y Yang sp. nov. (FIGURE 3)

IndexFungorum: IF559539

Etymology: —The species name “luzhangensis” refers to the name of the sample collection site: Luzhang Town, Nujiang City, Yunnan Province, China.

Material examined: — CHINA, Yunnan Province, Lushui County, Luzhang Town, from forest soil (25°56'34.25"N 98°50'21.88"E, 1 December 2017, Zhang Fa. (Holotype CGMCC3.20941, deposited in the China General Microbiological Culture Collection Center); ex-type culture DL117.

Description: — Saprobic on soil. Colonies on PDA white, grew rapidly, reaching 55 mm diameter within 7 days at 26 °C. Mycelium colourless, septate, branched. Macroconidiophores hyaline, erect, septate, unbranched, sometimes produce 1–3 short denticles at the apex and bear single macroconidia on each denticle, 115.5–310 μm (x̅= 219.9 µm, n = 50) long, 3.5–5 μm (x̅= 4.8 µm, n = 50) wide at the base, 1.5–3 μm (x̅= 2.5 µm, n = 50) wide at the apex. Microconidiophores erect, septate, unbranched, produce several short denticles by repeated elongation, bear single microconidia on each denticle, 77–180 μm (x̅= 108.7 µm, n = 50) long, 4–5.5 μm (x̅= 4.3 µm, n = 50) wide at the base, 1.5–2.5 μm (x̅= 1.9 µm, n = 50) wide at the apex. Conidia two types: macroconidia hyaline, smooth, obovoid to fusiform, the central cell is the largest,1–4-septate, mostly 2–3-septate, 23.5–67 × 13.5–26.5 μm (x̅ = 49.6 × 20.2 μm, n = 50); Microconidia clavate or obovoid, hyaline, aseptate, 14–23 × 4.5–7.5 μm (x̅ = 18 × 5.7 μm, n = 50). Chlamydospores globose to ellipsoidal, chain growth. Capturing nematodes using adhesive networks.

Additional material examined: — CHINA, Yunnan Province, Luzhang Town, Lushui County, 25°56’34.25”N 98°50’21.88”W, from forest soil, 1 December 2017, Zhang Fa. Living culture: DLUCC29 .

Notes: Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Arthrobotrys luzhangensis is related to A. koreensis, A. obovata, A. scaphoides, A. latisporus, A. botryospora, A. cladodes and A. robusta (91% MLBS, 0.92 BYPP). In morphology, A. luzhangensis (1–4-septate conidia) can be easily distinguished from A. koreensis, A. obovata, A. latisporus, A. botryospora, A. cladodes and A. robusta (0–1-septate conidia) in the shape, size, septation number of conidia (Drechsler 1937, Duddington 1951, Barron 1979, Zhang et al. 1996, Su et al. 2011, Wu et al. 2012, Zhang & Hyde 2014). A. luzhangensis is more similar to A. scaphoides (Schenck et al. 1977) . Their differences are as follows: 1) A. luzhangensis produces two types of conidia, while A. scaphoides produce one type conidia; 2) A. scaphoides produce 1–6-septate conidia, while the conidia of A. luzhangensis have no more than 4 septa. In addition, the conidia of A. luzhangensis are shorter and thicker than those of A. scaphoide [ A. luzhangensis, 23.6–66.9 (49.6) × 13.5–26.7 (20.2) µm versus A. scaphoide, 36.6–79.3 (57) × 11–17.5 (14) µm]; 3) The conidiophores of A. scaphoide bear 1–10 conidia by repeated elongation, while the conidiophores of A. luzhangensis bear 1–3 conidia on short denticles at the apex.