First modern findings of red‐listed fungus Battarrea phalloides (Agaricales, Basidiomycota) in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia

Aim. The monitoring of known as well as the search for new localities of rare and protected species is a requirement for Red Data Books and conservation efforts as a whole. The aim of this paper is to describe the finding of basidiomycete fungus Battarrea phalloides, a rare and protected species in the Republic of Dagestan, and to discuss features of its phylogenetic diversity, distribution and ecology.Material and Methods. Primary identification of the material was carried out by light microscopy. Phylogenetic analysis was performed based on the Maximum Likelihood method.Results. New locality of B. phalloides has been revealed in Gunibsky district of the Republic of Dagestan. A detailed description of macro‐ and micromorphology of the collected basidioma, as well as peculiarities of new ecotope occupied by the species is presented. The complete ITS1–5.8S–ITS2 nrDNA sequence has been obtained and deposited in the NCBI GenBank database. In phylogenetic analysis the specimen studied formed a separate clade among other individuals of B. phalloides with different geographical origins.Conclusion. The new B. phalloides finding recorded in Dagestan allowed us to expand the knowledge on its ecology and distribution, as well as on intraspecific phylogenetic structure of the species red‐listed in the region and little‐known in the Caucasus.