Capronia harrisiana (Ascomycota, Chaetothyriales), a new lichenicolous species on Crocodia aurata from the southern Appalachian Mountains of southeastern North America

Contributions to the knowledge of lichenicolous fungi growing on Pannariaceae, including four new species and an identification key

“…Notes: Capronia marginalis is a distinctive species characterised by relatively large perithecia, rather short and inconspicuous setae, a hemiamyloid hymenial gel, 8 -spored asci, and light greyish orange, (0 –)3-septate ascospores with rather acute ends. It differs well from all non-lichenicolous species of the genus with 3-septate ascospores presented in Hollinger & Lendemer (2021: Table 1) by the size of perithecia and ascospores. Among the lichenicolous species of Capronia with 8-spored asci and ascospores with exclusively or mostly 3 transverse septa four species have been known to date, viz.…”

“…None of them has been reported from species of Pannariaceae, while lichenicolous Capronia species are usually confined to a particular host genus ( Hollinger & Lendemer 2021). Additionally, Capronia andina differs in the smaller perithecia, 100 –150 µm diam., and smaller ascospores, 13 –19 × 4.5 – 6 µm ( Etayo 2003); C. cogtii differs in the smaller perithecia, 90–150 µm diam., and consistently hyaline, (1–)3(–5)-septate, slightly longer ascospores, (17.5–)20.5–25.5(–28.5) × (5–)6–7(–8) µm, rarely with a gelatinous sheath ( Zhurbenko et al 2019); C. harrisiana differs in the much smaller perithecia, 50 –120(–140) µm diam., longer setae, (30 –)42–95(–120) µm long, and smaller ascospores, (11–)12–15.5(–18.5) × (4 –)4.5 – 6(–7) µm with a gelatinous sheath ( Hollinger & Lendemer 2021); and C. suijae differs in the much smaller perithecia, 40 – 80 µm diam., I– interascal gel, and smaller ascospores, (9.5 –)10 –11(–11.5) × 4 – 4.5(–5) µm ( Tsurykau & Etayo 2017). Ascospores of Capronia pseudonormandinae Diederich (on Normandina simodensis ) also have 3 transverse septa, but are much shorter, 12.5 –16 × 6 –7.5 µm, and sometimes have 1–2 longitudinal septa ( Aptroot et al 1997).…”