Annulatascales » Annulatascaceae » Cataractispora

Cataractispora aquatica

Cataractispora aquatica Hyde et al
Index Fungorum number: IF460659

 

Sexual morph: Ascomata 240-370 µm diam., globose to subglobose, immersed or superficial, coriaceous, dark-brown or black, beaked, solitary. Neck cylindrical, short and black. Peridium comprising an outer layer of brown-walled compressed cells and an inner layer of hyaline compressed cells. Paraphyses up to 3-3 µm wide, hypha-like, septate and tapering distally .Asci 344-366 ´ 11-12 µm (x̄ = 359 ´ 12 µm, n = 25), 8-spored, long-cylindrical, thin-walled, pedicellate, with a J-, refractive apical ring, 5 µm long, 6 µm wide. Ascospores 36-65 ´ 8-14 µm(x̄ = 46 ´ 10 µm, n = 50), uni-seriate or overlapping uni-seriate, fusiform, thick-walled, hyaline, young ascospores 0 to 3-septate, mature ascospores 5-septate, with polar chambers. Polar chambers 3-6 µm long, conical, with an apical pore. In water, appendages extend through the opening of the chamber and subsequently expand to form long threads. Asexual morph: Undetermined.

Specimen examined: AUSTRALIA, north Queensland, Cow Bay, freshwater stream, on submerged wood; BRUNEI, Temburong, Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre, Sungai Esu, on submerged wood; SEYCHELLES, Mahe, River St Marie Louise, on submerged wood (Hyde et al.1999b) 

 

Fig 1. Cataractispora aquatica (Interference light contrast micrographs, holotype). No. 1, 2. Immersed and superficial ascomata with long necks. No. 3. Immature ascus. No. 4. Mature ascus with a large refractive apical ring. The ascospores are uni-seriate or overlapping uni-seriate in the ascus. No. 5. Wide septate paraphyses. No. 6. External view of ascoma wall. No. 7-10. Ascospores with unfurling ascospore appendages. Note the external polar chambers (arrowed). No. 9. Polar chamber filled with appendage material. No. 10 and 11, appendage material extruding through the pores at the apices of polar chambers. No. 12. a long thread-like appendage forms at each pole of the ascospore. Note the connection between the polar chamber wall and ascospore wall (arrowed in 10). Scale bars: 1, 2 = 100 µm. 3-10 = 10µm. (Photo garbed from Hyde et al. 1999)

 

Recent Genus

1
Neochlamydotubeufia
Neohelicomyces

Recent Species

Neohelicomyces submersus
Neohelicomyces hyalosporus
Neohelicomyces grandisporus