XVI International Botanical Congess

During a biospeleological study undertaken in 1978 to describe the flora and fauna of Devil=s cave, situated in Tepoztlán, Morelos State, México, an unusual ascomycete was isolated from bat dung. Because it could not be readily identified, it was cryopreserved. Recently the fungus was reactivated and a culture was obtained that produces abundant ascomata. These are ostiolate, with a long neck and small venter. The neck is ornamented with lateral glandular hairs and non-glandular terminal hairs. The centrum contains septate paraphyses and asci with deliquescent walls that form in the base of the centrum. The ascospores are unicellular and hyaline. In order to examine the systematic position of this ascomycete, morphological and molecular characters were studied and compared. The combination of characters exhibited by this fungus differs from those of any described genus. Therefore, we are describing a new genus to accommodate it.