A new species of the Trichia botrytis complex from the cloud forest in Ecuador

Abstract

The paper describes a new myxomycete species, Trichia tuberculata, from the Ecuadorian cloud forest. The phylogeny constructed with nuclear 18S rDNA and mitochondrial 17S rDNA sequences indicates that the taxon is closely related to recently described species T. acetocorticola, T. nubila, and T. pinicola, all within the T. botrytis complex. The morphology of the inner peridium surface and capillitium also aligns T. tuberculata with these species. However, the distinctive tuberculate peridium, short elater tips, and perhaps the distribution range (so far found in the equatorial zone only) distinguish T. tuberculata from related taxa.