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Title: NEW CLAVULINA SPECIES FROM THE PAKARAIMA MOUNTAINS OF GUYANA

Author
item HENKEL, TERRY - HUMBOLDT ST U, ARCATA,CA
item MESZAROS, RYAN - HUMBOLDT ST U, ARCATA,CA
item Aime, Mary
item KENNEDY, ALLISON - TORONTO, ONTARIO, CAN

Submitted to: Mycological Progress
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/2/2005
Publication Date: 11/1/2005
Citation: Henkel, T.W., Meszaros, R., Aime, M.C., Kennedy, A. 2005. New clavulina species from the pakaraima mountains of guyana. Mycological Progress. 4(4):343-350.

Interpretive Summary: Fungi are a diverse group of organisms that include mushrooms, molds, and many species that attack plants and are potentially invasive species. One problem with determining the invasive potential of specific fungi is that only 10% of the fungi are known to science at present, with even fewer known in South America. The identification of new species of fungi foreign to the United States is an urgent national need. Therefore, mushrooms associated with tree roots were collected in an unexplored tropical rain forest of Guyana and compared to known fungi by anatomical and DNA sequence methods. The data revealed the presence of five species new to science. This discovery is significant because the descriptions, illustrations, and DNA sequence data provided will allow other scientists to be able to identify these new fungi whenever they are found. Therefore, this research will be utilized by agronomists, ecologists, foresters and regulatory personnel interested in potentially invasive pests.

Technical Abstract: Five new species of Clavulina (Clavulinaceae, Cantharellales, Basidiomycota) are described from the Pakaraima Mountains of Guyana, occurring in rain forests dominated by the ectomycorrhizal tree Dicymbe corymbosa (Caesalpiniaceae). These clavarioid fungi have simple (i.e., unbranching) basidiomata, which is a relatively uncommon phenotypic feature for the genus Clavulina. Macromorphological, micromorphological, and habitat data are provided for each taxon, and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences of the 28S subunit and internal transcribed spacer region were obtained for each holotype collection. Taxonomic novelties include: Clavulina caespitosa sp. nov., Clavulina dicymbetorum sp. nov., Clavulina humicola sp. nov., Clavulina griseohumicola sp. nov., and Clavulina monodiminutiva sp. nov.