TYPE. UNITED KINGDOM. Scotland, V. C. 104, North Ebudes, Isle of Skye, Tokavaig wood, on Lepraria lobificans, 8.VIII.2003, P. Diederich 15653 (E, holotype; hb. Diederich, UGDA, isotypes).
Life form. Lichenicolous fungus.
Description. [Modified from Kukwa & Diederich (2005)] Thallus absent; photobiont absent; ascomata absent. Colonies dispersed, superficial, dark brown to black, arising on the surface of decolorized patches of the host thallus. Mycelium immersed to superficial, branched, smooth-walled, hyaline, 1–3 μm thick. Conidiophores micronematous, mononematous, hyaline to brown, smooth-walled, septate, irregular in length, to 30 μm long. Conidiogenous cells monoblastic, integrated, terminal, determinate, ellipsoid to subcylindrical, hyaline to brown, 2–3 μm diam. x 1–8 μm long. Conidia arising singly at the apices of the conidiogenous cells, dry, acrogenous, muriform, mainly subglobose or shortly ellipsoid, 6–25(–30)5–20 μm diam., composed of ~15–60 cells when fully developed, the individual cells medium to dark brown with an olivaceous tinge, becoming slightly darker and more olivaceous in 5% KOH, subglobose, smooth-walled, thick-walled, wall without irregular thickenings, 2.5–4.5 μm diam.
Host and habitat: On thalli of several Lepraria spp. on bark or rarely wood in forests.
Distribution. Europe and North America; in North Carolina found in the Blue Ridge ecoregion.
Literature
Kukwa, M. & P. Diederich (2005) Monodictys epilepraria, a new species of lichenicolous hyphomycetes on Lepraria. The Lichenologist37(3): 217-220.