Aeminiaceae J. Trovao , I. Tiago & A. Portugal

Trovao, Joao, Tiago, Igor, Soares, Fabiana, Paiva, Diana Sofia, Mesquita, Nuno, Coelho, Catarina, Catarino, Lidia, Gil, Francisco & Portugal, Antonio, 2019, Description of Aeminiaceae fam. nov., Aeminium gen. nov. and Aeminiumludgeri sp. nov. (Capnodiales), isolated from a biodeteriorated art-piece in the Old Cathedral of Coimbra, Portugal, MycoKeys 45, pp. 57-73 : 61-62

Aeminiaceae J. Trovao, I. Tiago & A. Portugal fam. nov.

Description.

Asexual morph: mycelium consisting of septate, smooth hyphae, gradually becoming widen, thick-walled, darker and developing into meristematic chains of conidia. Conidia dark brown, thick-walled, smooth, rugose, globose with single central septa resulting from the differentiation of toruloid-like hyphal cells. Sexual morph: unknown.

Type genus.

Aeminium J. Trovão, I. Tiago & A. Portugal.

Type species.

Aeminium ludgeri J. Trovão, I. Tiago & A. Portugal.

Notes.

Members of Aeminiaceae encompass microcolonial black fungi occurring in deteriorated limestones and are classified as halotolerant, xerophilic, and facultative alkaliphiles. They exhibit slow growth and late melanization, derived from the late differentiation of intercalary or terminal hyphal cells into arthroconidia, that turn olivaceous brown to dark. Fully maturation of the arthroconidia occurs after at least a 2-month incubation period. Their geographical distribution seems to be confined, for now, to limestones in the Iberian Peninsula, although further sampling is necessary to fully highlight their complete geographical and ecological spectrum.