In: Sydowia 76, (2024): 45-61; ISSN 0082-0598, DOI 10.12905/0380.sydowia76-2024-0045, Published online on October 18, 2023

Wawelia amyloasca, sp. nov., – the only species of Wawelia (Xylariaceae) discovered in the field

Fedor M. Bortnikov, Nadezhda A. Bortnikova & Evgeny A. Antonov

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Biology, Leninskie Gory 1–12, Moscow 119234, Russia Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Laboratory of Systematics and Geography of Fungi, Prof. Popov Street 2, St. Petersburg, 197376, Russia Kurchatov Institute National Research Center, Institute of Information Technology, Kurchatov Square 1, Moscow 123098, Russia

* e-mail: f.m.bortnikov@gmail.com

Bortnikov F.M., Bortnikova N.A. & Antonov E.A. (2023) Wawelia amyloasca, sp. nov., – the only species of Wawelia (Xylariaceae) discovered in the field. – Sydowia 76: 45–61.

The new species Wawelia amyloasca is described from the dung of Siberian roe deer in the Russian Far East. This is the first published record of Wawelia for more than 20 years, the only record outside Europe, and the only discovery made in the field, even though the genus was described in 1908. The new taxon is characterized by the longest stromata in the genus reaching 120 mm, ascospores with polar pad-like appendages, and asci with a well-noticeable amyloid apical apparatus, which is unique within the genus. Wawelia is accommodated within the family Xylariaceae together with other coprophilous genera, which was proved by the phylogenetic analysis using four markers, ITS, LSU, BenA, and RPB2, the latter two being obtained for the first time for the genus. A complete bibliography is given and a comparative table including all known species of Wawelia is presented.

Key words: apical apparatus, Ascomycota, coprophilous fungi, molecular phylogeny, rare species. – 1 new species.