Skeletocutis amorpha

Skeletocutis amorpha
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Basidiomycota
Class:	Agaricomycetes
Order:	Polyporales
Family:	Polyporaceae
Genus:	Skeletocutis
Species:	S. amorpha
Binomial name
	Skeletocutis amorpha; (Fr.) Kotl. & Pouzar (1958)
Synonyms [1]
	Polyporus amorphusFr. (1815);

Last updated February 22, 2019

Skeletocutis amorpha is a species of poroid fungus in the family Polyporaceae, and the type species of the genus Skeletocutis .

Polypores are a group of fungi that form fruiting bodies with pores or tubes on the underside. They are a morphological group of basidiomycetes like gilled mushrooms and hydnoid fungi, and not all polypores are closely related to each other. Polypores are also called bracket fungi, and their woody fruiting bodies are called conks.

The Polyporaceae are a family of poroid fungi belonging to the Basidiomycota. The flesh of their fruit bodies varies from soft to very tough. Most members of this family have their hymenium in vertical pores on the underside of the caps, but some of them have gills or gill-like structures. Many species are brackets, but others have a definite stipe – for example, Polyporus badius.

In zoological nomenclature, a type species is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen(s). A similar concept is used for suprageneric groups called a type genus.

Taxonomy

The fungus was first described as new to science in 1815 by Elias Magnus Fries as Polyporus amorphus. It has since acquired an extensive synonymy.^[1] Czech mycologists František Kotlába and Zdeněk Pouzar transferred it to the genus Skeletocutis in 1958.^[2]

A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species which have been described previously or are related. The species description often contains photographs or other illustrations of the type material and states in which museums it has been deposited. The publication in which the species is described gives the new species a formal scientific name. Some 1.9 million species have been identified and described, out of some 8.7 million that may actually exist. Millions more have become extinct.

Elias Magnus Fries FRS FRSE FLS RAS was a Swedish mycologist and botanist.

Zdeněk Pouzar is a Czech mycologist. Along with František Kotlaba, he published several works about the taxonomy of polypore, corticioid, and gilled fungi. Pouzar is a noted expert on stromatic pyrenomycetes. Until 2012, he was the editor-in-chief of the scientific journal Czech Mycology.

Description

Fruit bodies are effused-reflexed (crust-like with the edges curled out into rudimentary caps), or, more rarely, completely crust-like.^[3]

Its spores are allantoid (sausage-shaped), and measure 3–4.5 by 1.3–1.8 μm.^[3]

A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by Basidiomycete fungi, a grouping that includes mushrooms, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid nucleus that is the product of meiosis, and they are produced by specialized fungal cells called basidia. Typically, four basidiospores develop on appendages from each basidium, out of these 2 are of one strain and other 2 of its opposite strain. In gills under a cap of one common species, there exist millions of basidia. Some gilled mushrooms in the order Agaricales have the ability to release billions of spores. The puffball fungus Calvatia gigantea has been calculated to produce about five trillion basidiospores. Most basidiospores are forcibly discharged, and are thus considered ballistospores. These spores serve as the main air dispersal units for the fungi. The spores are released during periods of high humidity and generally have a night-time or pre-dawn peak concentration in the atmosphere.

The micrometre or micrometer, also commonly known by the previous name micron, is an SI derived unit of length equaling 1×10⁻⁶ metre ; that is, one millionth of a metre.

Habitat and distribution

A widely distributed fungus, S. amorpha is found in Africa, Australia, China,^[4] and Europe. It causes a white rot in the dead wood of various species of the pine family, particularly pine, but also fir, larch, and spruce. Rarely, it grows on hardwoods such as alder, beech, and oak.^[3]

The Pinaceae are trees or shrubs, including many of the well-known conifers of commercial importance such as cedars, firs, hemlocks, larches, pines and spruces. The family is included in the order Pinales, formerly known as Coniferales. Pinaceae are supported as monophyletic by their protein-type sieve cell plastids, pattern of proembryogeny, and lack of bioflavonoids. They are the largest extant conifer family in species diversity, with between 220 and 250 species in 11 genera, and the second-largest in geographical range, found in most of the Northern Hemisphere, with the majority of the species in temperate climates, but ranging from subarctic to tropical. The family often forms the dominant component of boreal, coastal, and montane forests. One species, Pinus merkusii, grows just south of the equator in Southeast Asia. Major centres of diversity are found in the mountains of southwest China, Mexico, central Japan, and California.

A pine is any conifer in the genus Pinus of the family Pinaceae. Pinus is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The Plant List compiled by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts 126 species names of pines as current, together with 35 unresolved species and many more synonyms.

Firs (Abies) are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range. Firs are most closely related to the genus Cedrus (cedar). Douglas firs are not true firs, being of the genus Pseudotsuga.

Related Research Articles

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Skeletocutis is a genus of about 40 species of poroid fungi in the family Polyporaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, although most species are found in the Northern Hemisphere. Skeletocutis causes a white rot in a diverse array of woody substrates. Their fruit bodies grow as a crust on the surface of the decaying wood. Sometimes the edges of the crust are turned outward to form rudimentary bracket-like caps.

František Kotlaba is a Czech botanist and mycologist.

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Phellodon confluens, commonly known as the fused cork hydnum, is a species of tooth fungus in the family Bankeraceae. It was originally described in 1825 as Hydnum confluens by Christiaan Hendrik Persoon. Czech mycologist Zdenek Pouzar transferred it to the genus Phellodon in 1956. The fungus is found in Asia, Europe, and North America. It is considered vulnerable in Switzerland.

Skeletocutis alutacea is a species of poroid fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It was described as new to science in 1946 by American mycologist Josiah Lincoln Lowe as Poria alutacea. Jean Keller transferred it to the genus Skeletocutis in 1979. It is found in the United States and Canada, in Europe, and New Zealand, where it causes a white rot in various woody substrates.

Skeletocutis borealis is a rare species of poroid fungus in the family Polyporaceae. Found in northern Europe, it was described as new to science in 1998 by Finnish mycologist Tuomo Niemelä.

Skeletocutis brevispora is a species of poroid crust fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It was described as new to science in 1998 by Finnish mycologist Tuomo Niemelä.

Skeletocutis biguttulata is a species of poroid fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It was first described scientifically by Swedish mycologist Lars Romell in 1932. Tuomo Niemelä redescribed and illustrated the fungus in 1998, and explained that collections of this fungus had previously been attributed to the related Skeletocutis subincarnata. S. biguttulata may be distinguished from the latter fungus by its biguttulate spores, more regularly arranged pores, and the cracking pore surface seen in older specimens.

Skeletocutis azorica is a species of poroid fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It has only been found in Portugal.

Skeletocutis subvulgaris is a species of poroid, white rot fungus in the family Polyporaceae. Found in China, it was described as a new species in 1998 by mycologist Yu-Chen Dai. It was named for its resemblance to Skeletocutis vulgaris. The type collection was made in Hongqi District, Jilin Province, where it was found growing on the rotting wood of Korean pine.

$<i>Loweomyces fractipes</i> species of fungus$

Loweomyces fractipes is a species of poroid fungus in the family Steccherinaceae, and the type species of the genus Loweomyces. It is a widely distributed species, found in North America, Europe, Central America, South America, and Korea.

Sarcodontia crocea is a species of toothed crust fungus in the family Meruliaceae. The species was first described scientifically in 1822 by Lewis David de Schweinitz, who called it Sistotrema croceum. It was transferred to the genus Sarcodontia by Czech mycologist František Kotlaba in 1953. S. crocea usually occurs on old fruit trees, in which it causes a white rot. It is found in Europe, Asia, and North America. It is red-listed in several European countries.

Skeletocutis pseudo-odora is a species of poroid crust fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It was described as a new species by Chinese mycologists in 2017. The type specimen was collected from Leigongshan Nature Reserve in Leishan County, Guizhou Province. It was growing on a fallen branch of Chinese white pine, at an altitude of 1,800 metres (5,900 ft). The fungus is named after its similarity to Skeletocutis odora.

Skeletocutis niveicolor is a species of poroid crust fungus in the family Polyporaceae. It was first described in 1920 by American mycologist William Alphonso Murrill as Poria niveicolor. The type was collected on well-rotted wood found in Cockpit Country, Jamaica in 1909. Leif Ryvarden transferred it to the genus Skeletocutis in 1985. He noted that it was readily distinguished from other Skeletocutis species by its small spores, which measure 2.5–3.1 by 1.5–2 μm. In addition to Jamaica, the fungus has been also reported from Argentina and Costa Rica.

Skeletocutis stramentica is a species of poroid fungus in the family Polyporaceae that is found in New Zealand.

Skeletocutis falsipileata is a species of poroid crust fungus in the family Polyporaceae. Found in Malaysia, it was first described by E.J.H. Corner in 1992 as a species of Tyromyces. Tsutomu Hattori transferred it to Skeletocutis in 2002.

Diplomitoporus flavescens is a species of poroid crust fungus in the family Polyporaceae.

Pachykytospora tuberculosa is a species of poroid fungus in the family Polyporaceae, and the type species of genus Pachykytospora.

References

1 2 "GSD Species Synonymy: Skeletocutis amorpha (Fr.) Kotl. & Pouzar [as 'amorphus']". Species Fungorum. CAB International. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
↑ Kotlába, F.; Pouzar, Z. (1958). "Polypori novi vel minus cogniti Cechoslovakiae III" (PDF). Ceská Mykologie (in Czech). 12 (2): 95–104.
1 2 3 Ryvarden, Leif; Melo, Ireneia (2014). Poroid Fungi of Europe. Synopsis Fungorum. 31. Oslo, Norway: Fungiflora. p. 392. ISBN 978-8290724462.
↑ Dai, Yu-Cheng; Cui, Bao-Kai; Huang, Ming-Yun (2007). "Polypores from eastern Inner Mongolia, northeastern China". Nova Hedwigia. 84 (3–4): 513–520. doi:10.1127/0029-5035/2007/0084-0513.

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[Species_Fungorum_synonymy-1] 1 2 "GSD Species Synonymy: Skeletocutis amorpha (Fr.) Kotl. & Pouzar [as 'amorphus']". Species Fungorum. CAB International. Retrieved 2016-10-29.

[Kotlába_1958-2] Kotlába, F.; Pouzar, Z. (1958). "Polypori novi vel minus cogniti Cechoslovakiae III" (PDF). Ceská Mykologie (in Czech). 12 (2): 95–104.

[Ryvarden_2014-3] 1 2 3 Ryvarden, Leif; Melo, Ireneia (2014). Poroid Fungi of Europe. Synopsis Fungorum. 31. Oslo, Norway: Fungiflora. p. 392. ISBN 978-8290724462.

[Dai_2007-4] Dai, Yu-Cheng; Cui, Bao-Kai; Huang, Ming-Yun (2007). "Polypores from eastern Inner Mongolia, northeastern China". Nova Hedwigia. 84 (3–4): 513–520. doi:10.1127/0029-5035/2007/0084-0513.