Zaanenomyces hilifer Reblova & Hern. - Restr. 2025, sp. nov.

Zaanenomyces hilifer Réblová & Hern.-Restr. sp. nov. Fig. 13 Etymology. From Latin hilum (scar, mark) and fer (bearing, carrying) derived from ferre (to bear, to carry). Referring to the conidial morphology, and the distinct basal hilum. Typus. IRAN • Golestān Province, Fenderesk District, Alborz Mountains near Shirābād village, Shirābād Waterfall; on Carex sp. litter; Jun 2003; W. Gams & R. Zare (holotype CBS H-25777 dried culture, ex-type culture CBS 113561). Culture characteristics. On CMD colonies 13–14 mm diam., circular, slightly raised, margin entire, cobwebby becoming mucoid, slightly furrowed, salmon to salmon-brown, pink-beige at the margin, reverse pink-beige. On MLA colonies 16–17 mm diam., circular, convex, margin entire, cobwebby, furrowed, salmon-brown with whitish patches, margin salmon, reverse beige with pinkish-orange hue. On OA colonies 14–16 mm diam., circular, flat, cobwebby to velvety, faint orange with diffuse margin, reverse of the same colour. On PCA colonies 12–13 mm diam., circular, flat, margin entire to fimbriate, mucoid and salmon-brown at the centre, cobwebby to velvety and whitish-salmon towards the periphery, reverse of the same colour. Sporulation abundant on OA and PCA, moderate on MLA, absent on CMD. Description in culture. Colonies on MLA effuse. Sexual morph. Not observed. Asexual morph. Mycelium composed of hyaline to subhyaline, branched, septate, thin-walled hyphae, often swollen, 1.5–3.5 µm wide. Some of the swollen hyphal segments differentiate into thick-walled, subglobose to globose cells, which become basal cells of the conidiophores. Conidiophores 51.5–98.5 × 3.5–5 µm, basal cells bulbous or lobate, 5–8.5 (– 10) µm wide, macronematous, mononematous, scattered or loosely aggregated, erect, cylindrical or slightly subulate, with or without nodulose swellings, unbranched, brown to golden brown, basal cell at first subhyaline to pale brown, brown at maturity, smooth-walled, septate. Conidiogenous cells 6.5–21 × 2.5–3.5 µm, integrated, terminal, sometimes forming transverse septa during sympodial proliferation and becoming intercalary with clusters of closely spaced denticles, monoblastic or polyblastic, denticulate, cylindrical, sometimes with a slight swelling at the apex, pale brown, subhyaline towards the apex, smooth-walled; conidiogenesis holoblastic-denticulate. Conidia 12–19 × 3–4.5 µm (mean ± SD = 15.2 ± 1.9 × 4.0 ± 0.3 μm), solitary, dry, acropleurogenous, fusiform to narrowly ellipsoidal, subobtuse to acute at the apex, tapering towards the base, often slightly acuminate, truncate at the base ca. 1 µm wide, with a conspicuous basal scar, slightly curved to straight, smooth-walled, with (1 –) 3 (– 4) transverse septa, not constricted at the septa, hyaline, also hyaline in mass; conidial secession schizolytic. Habitat and geographical distribution. The species is a saprobe on litter of Carex sp. in Iran. According to the GlobalFungi database, it is widespread in Europe in numerous countries, with hotspots in Switzerland, Czech Republic, and Germany, and secondary occurrences in North America (USA, Canada) and Asia (China). It was detected in 149 samples isolated predominantly from soil (80.5 %), with occasional recovery from deadwood (8.7 %), roots (6 %), air (2.7 %) and shoots (2.1 %). It is most often found in grasslands (49 %), with notable representation in shrubland (16.1 %), forest (16.1 %) and cropland (11.4 %) biomes, and less frequently in anthropogenic habitats, woodlands, wetlands and aquatic systems. The species thrives in temperate climates, MAT ~ 10.3 ° C, MAP ~ 770 mm / year. Notes. Zaanenomyces hilifer is readily distinguished from the other three species described by Crous et al. (2021) by its smaller, fusiform to narrowly ellipsoidal conidia, 12–19 × 3–4.5 μm, which are predominantly 3 - septate. The closely related Z. quadripartis differs in having longer conidia, (12 –) 23–30 (– 35) × (2.5 –) 3 µm. Both species possess macronematous conidiophores with occasional nodulose swellings along the stipe and a conspicuous terminal rachis. Moreover the basal cell in Z. hilifer is bulbous to lobate, while basal cell of Z. quadripartis is swollen or with rhizoids (Crous et al. 2021). Zaanenomyces versatilis is characterised by straight to geniculately curved, semi-macronematous conidiophores, and longer conidia, (16 –) 43–50 (– 55) × (2.5 –) 3 (– 3.5) µm, which are subcylindrical, pale brown, (3 –) 7–10 (– 12) - septate. In addition, Z. moderatricis-academiae also produces longer, (32 –) 40–52 (– 57) × 2.5–3 µm, 4–10 - septate, pale brown conidia on micronematous conidiophores, often reduced to single, mostly monoblastic conidiogenous cells. These morphological differences, together with molecular evidence, support the recognition of Z. hilifer as a distinct species. Zaanenomyces hilifer is a widely distributed, soil-dwelling saprobe with strong representation in temperate biomes, especially grasslands and croplands. Its presence across Europe, North America, and Asia highlights a cosmopolitan distribution pattern, likely facilitated by anthropogenic soil movement and plant associations. Despite being recently described, eDNA sequencing suggests it is neither rare nor geographically restricted, but instead an ecologically versatile species that may be overlooked due to its cryptic morphology.

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