morphology

Two new species of oribatid mites (Oribatida)—Hermannobates neotropicus sp. nov. (Hermanniellidae) and Mucrobates venezuelaensis sp. nov. (Scheloribatidae)—are described, based on materials collected from sweep sample in the cloud forest in Western Venezuela. The genus Mucrobates is recorded in the Venezuelan fauna for the first time. Hermannobates neotropicus sp. nov. differs from the closely related species, H. intermedius Călugăr, 1990, by length and morphology of the bothridial seta. Mucrobates venezuelaensis sp. nov. differs from the closely related species, M. cayoaguaensis Ermilov & Kontschán, 2021, by the body size, the length of the bothridial and exobothridial setae, the presence of the pedotectum II, keel-shaped ridge and seta v’ on the leg genu II, and the location of the adanal seta ad1.

Thirty-four species of oribatid mites (Oribatida), belonging to 29 genera and 14 families, were collected from Saona Island, Southeast Dominican Republic. A new species of the genus Pergalumna—P. (Pergalumna) saonaensis sp. nov.—is described from leaf litter of the mixed forest.

Species of the Alternaria section Nimbya are plant pathogens or saprophytes associated mainly with the plants in the Cyperaceae and Juncaceae families. Until now, five species from this section have been reported in Iran, but their sexual morphs have not been identified. In the present study, the sexual morph of Alternaria scirpivora was induced under laboratory conditions on PCA medium containing autoclave sterilized culms of Scirpus acutus incubated at 23–25 ºC for 90 days. Mature ascomata were formed after 2–3 months, containing asci and ascospores. The morphological characteristics of the sexual and asexual morphs are described and the phylogenetic relationships of A. scirpivora with closely related species are discussed. This is the first report of the sexual stage of this species in Iran and Asia.

Calotropis procera is a shrub or small tree growing in tropical regions of the southern provinces in Iran. The economic benefits of the shrub include the use of latex and extract in traditional medicine. In a survey conducted in the southern provinces of Iran, leaf lesion symptoms were observed on C. procera shrubs. The purpose of the current study was to identify and characterize putative pathogens causing these symptoms. Isolations from the symptomatic tissues yielded predominantly a fungus belonging to the Didymellaceae family of Ascomycota. The causal agent was identified as Neodidymelliopsis cynanchi, based on morphological characteristics, and multilocus phylogenetic analysis using ITS, LSU, rpb2, and tub2 sequences. Pathogenicity tests on four-month-old seedlings of C. procera revealed that the isolates caused typical leaf lesions on the host. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of N. cynanchi causing disease on C. procera worldwide and the first report of the occurrence of this species in Iran.

During a study on the biodiversity of fungal taxa associated with symptomatic plants in the forests and gardens of Guilan and Khorasan Razavi provinces (northern and northeastern Iran) two diseased plant samples were collected: one from large-leaved linden (Tilia platyphyllos Scop.) in Guilan, showing branch canker symptoms, and the other from a fig tree (Ficus carica L.) in Khorasan Razavi, exhibiting necrotic leaf spot symptoms. Two fungal isolates were recovered, identified, and characterized through a combination of morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of the ITS rDNA genomic regions. These isolates were identified as Ophioceras leptosporum on large-leaved linden and Schizothecium inaequale on the fig tree. According to the literature, O. leptosporum and S. inaequale are new ascomycetous taxa for the fungal flora of Iran. Furthermore, large-leaved linden and fig tree are reported here for the first time as new hosts (matrix nova) for O. leptosporum and S. inaequale, respectively, worldwide.

The present study is based on oribatid mite material collected from five locations in Eastern Guatemala. A list of 98species, belonging to 68 genera and 43 families, is presented; 70 species are recorded for the first time in Guatemalan fauna.A new species of genus Pergalumna,P. paraobsidianasp. nov.is described from rainforest litter.

A new species of cicada, Platylomia jini Wang sp. nov. (Hemiptera, Cicadidae, Cicadinae) is described from Yunnan, China. Illustrations of the habitus and diagnostic characters of the new species are presented. It most resembles P. shaanxiensis Wang & Wei, 2014 from Shaanxi, China. Diagnostic characters of the two species are compared in detail. Platylomia insignis Distant, 1912 and P. operculata Distant, 1913 are commented on their distributions in China, and P. strongata Lei, 1997 is proposed as an unavailable name and a nomen nudum. In addition, an updated list of all 23 known species of the genus Platylomia are presented.

Pleosporalean fungi are important plant pathogens, saprobes, and endophytes found in a wide range of economically important plants. To identify the fungi associated with branch and stem canker symptoms in plants, the gardens and forests of Guilan and Mazandaran provinces were surveyed, and infected plant samples were collected from common hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), common rue (Ruta graveolens), and oriental persimmon (Diospyros kaki) plants during the autumn of 2021. Fungal strains were isolated and purified by common procedures, and then were morphologically identified. Molecular identification of the fungal strains was performed using the sequence data of the ITS rDNA region. Based on the combined data, three fungal genera and their related species belonging to the order Pleosporales including Acrocalymma walkeri from oriental persimmon, Setophaeosphaeria badalingensis from common rue, and Tremateia chromolaenae from common hawthorn, were identified and characterized. All these three species are new to the funga of Iran. In addition, Diospyros kaki, Crataegus monogyna, and Ruta graveolens have been reported as new hosts (matrix nova) for the respective identified fungal taxa worldwide

The Comoclathris genus belongs to the Pleosporaceae family (Dothideomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota), with most species being saprophytes. In the present study, Comoclathris typhicola was isolated from Typha latifolia (Typhaceae, Poales) exhibiting leaf spot symptoms. The species was described using PDA, MEA, and OA culture media, and its molecular identification was confirmed through sequencing of the large subunit RNA polymerase II (RPB2) gene. This is the first report of this species in Iran.

Tunisian species belonging to Philanthus Fabricius, 1790, Philanthinus de Beaumont, 1949 and Pseudoscolia Radoszkowski, 1876 genera except Philanthus minor Kohl, 1891 and Philanthus soikai de Beaumont, 1961 are morphologically described and a key for their identification is provided. Morphological characters are illustrated by digital photos and map of distribution in Tunisia of each species is given.

A new species of the genus Flagellozetes (Oribatida, Galumnidae) – F. (Cosmogalumna) daklakensis sp. nov. – is described from dry litter in Shorea dipterocarp forest in Daklak Province, Central Vietnam. The species F. (C.) maolanensis is recorded for the first time in Vietnamese fauna. An identification key to the known species of Flagellozetes is presented.

Female of Neognathus beshtauiensissp. nov. (Acari:Caligonellidae)is described from soil sample collected from the Beshtau mountain in Stavropol Krai of Northern Caucasus. Molothrognathus venustus(Khaustov &Kuznetsov) is recorded from Russia for the first time and its female and male are redescribed based on materials from the Tyumen Oblast of Russia.

Distoseptispora generally is  regarded as a saprobic lignicolous fungal genus and presently comprises 64 species. Of these, 42 of them were found in freshwater and 22 in terrestrial habitats. Most Distoseptispora species are reported from China and Thailand, which are subtropical and tropical regions. In this study, we report Distoseptispora bambusae as a saprobic fungus on decaying leaves of common bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris) based on morphological characteristics and sequence data of the ITS‒rDNA region. Distoseptispora bambusae was described, illustrated, and its morphology and phylogenetic relationships with similar Distoseptispora species were discussed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of D. bambusae on common bamboo for the mycobiota of Iran and the Middle East.

The genus Trichoderma consists of globally distributed fungi. Among them, T. harzianum, is one of the most commonly collected Trichoderma species, which had been known as an aggregate species. In the present study, using a Trichoderma selective medium, 20 isolates belonging to 5 Trichoderma species of the Harzianum clad were isolated from soil samples collected from diverse geographical regions of Khorramabad County, Iran. Comparing the cultural and phenotypic criteria combined with molecular tests of the tef1 gene sequences of isolated fungi, five species namely, T. afroharzianum, T. atrobrunneum, T. guizhouense, T. harzianum and T. pholiotae were identified and their descriptions and figures are presented in this paper. T. harzianum had the highest frequency among the 5 species. T. pholiotae is reported for the first time from Iran.

During the study of fungal taxa of gramineous plants, a hyphomycetous fungus with typical characteristics of the genus Spegazzinia was isolated from leaves of Brachypodium sp. (Poaceae), collected in Mazandaran province, Iran. The fungal species was determined as Spegazzinia tessarthra based on the combination of morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS-rDNA) region and a partial region of the translation elongation factor 1-alpha gene (tef1-α) sequences. In this study, we introduce S. tessarthra, saprobic on Brachypodium sp. leaves, as a new record for the Funga of Iran and Brachypodium sp. as a new substrate for the species. The description and illustrations of Spegazzinia tessarthra from Iran have been provided, and its morphology and phylogenetic relationships with other species of Spegazzinia have been discussed. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a species from the genus Spegazzinia in Iran, and further research is needed to determine the diversity of Spegazzinia species in the country.

Females of Bakerdania tadjikistanica sp. nov. (Acari: Heterostigmata: Neopygmephoridae) are described from a soil sample collected from the mountain pasture in Tajikistan. This is the first record of the genus Bakerdania and family Neopygmephoridae in Tajikistan.