Rickia taiwanensis Terada, Transations

Rossi, Walter & Leonardi, Marco, 2018, New species and new records of Laboulbeniales (Ascomycota) from Sierra Leone, Phytotaxa 358 (2), pp. 91-116 : 110

Rickia taiwanensis Terada, Transations of the Mycological Society of Japan 19: 62, 1978.

Distribution. This fungus was described on Tritoma fasciata Chûjô ( Erotylidae ) from Taiwan and subsequently reported from Japan on Spondotriplax inornata Shibata , from Papua New Guinea on Neothallis xanthosticta (Crotch) , and from Indonesia on an unidentified Erotylidae ( Weir 1998) .

New record from Sierra Leone. Northern Province, between the villages of Sinikoro and Kondembaia in the Loma Mts. area, 3.XII.1984, W. Rossi , on a few specimens of Neomycotretus anthracinus Gorham (Erotylidaeae) .

Remarks. The thalli from Sierra Leone do not differ from those reported from Asia and Oceania despite the distance from previous records and the different host.

Stichomyces vesiculifer Thaxter, Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 16: 249, 1931 ( Figures 5d and 5e )

Known distribution. Described on Sephedophilus obesus from Cameroon and never reported since.

New records from Sierra Leone. Southern Province, Tiwai Island, 8–10.I.1989, W. Rossi, on Sepedophilus sp. Western Area, base of Picket Hill, 1.XI.1995, W. Rossi , relatively abundant on various specimens of Sepedophilus sp. occurring on lignicolous mushrooms.

Remarks. The length from the foot to the perithecial apex of the thalli from Sierra Leone ranges from 140 to 370 μm and the distinguishing vesicular cells associated with the branches of the appendage can be very numerous or entirely absent.

Tavares (1985) transferred Stichomyces vesiculifer to the genus Corethromyces Thaxt. However , the numerous and quite variable thalli collected in Sierra Leone do not support this move. In mature specimens cell VII is large (sometimes larger than cell VI), bringing the perithecium in an upright position and displacing laterally the primary appendage ( Figure 5d ), but in a few thalli cell II bears two perithecia symmetrically on opposite sides; in these fungi the appendage is erect and indistinguishable from the receptacle ( Figure 3e ). These two latter features are considered distinguishing characters of the genus Stichomyces .

Both Thaxter (1931, p. 247) and Tavares (1985, p. 322) pointed out that the Corethromyces and Stichomyces are closely related genera; this topic deserves a careful review.

Figures

FIGURE 3. a: Laboulbenia insolita. b: upper portion of the perithecium of L. insolita. c: Laboulbenia kingsleyae from the type slide. d: Rhachomyces carbonii. e: Amphimyces cerylonis. f: Corethromyces rostellatus. g: Dimeromyces muticus. Scale bars: a, c, d, e, f, g = 50 μm; b = 25 μm.

FIGURE 5. a: Laboulbenia cf. schizozenii. b: Laboulbenia cf. pfisteri. c: Rhizomyces confusus. d: Stichomyces vesiculifer. e: thallus of S. vesiculifer with opposite perithecia. Scale bars = 50 μm.