Taxonomy and molecular phylogeny of Arthrobotrys mangrovispora, a new marine nematode-trapping fungal species

Arthrobotrys mangrovispora sp. nov. ( fungi) isolated from decaying submerged wood in mangroves of Hong Kong is described and illustrated. The species closely resembles A. scaphoides and A. microscaphoides, but is distinguished by its conidial shape and size and septum number. Conidia vary in shape; they are broadly turbinate to elongate-fusoid, range from 25-(38.9)-50x12-(17.3)-24 mu m, and possess 0-3 septa. The proportions of conidia with 0, 1, 2 or 3 septa are 6%, 23.5%, 50% and 20.5%, respectively. The new species forms adhesive network trapping devices. Phylogenetic analyses of nuclear and protein-coding DNA sequences (28S, ITS and a combined ITS+beta-tubulin dataset) indicate that the new taxon should be assigned to Arthrobotrys.