New records of fungi from Orkney and Shetland

Abstract

Summary Sixty-four species of coprophilous fungi were recorded from 42 herbivore dung samples collected in Orkney and Shetland in summer 2005. One, Ascobolus brantophilus, a high latitude species, is newly recorded for the UK and 13 and 28 species are newly recorded for Orkney and Shetland, respectively. The data obtained, with other records, are used to provide support for an earlier demonstration that the latitudinal gradient of species rich-ness, which declines with increasing latitude, can be observed by studying coprophilous fungi.