Molecular data show that Topeliopsis (Ascomycota, Thelotremataceae) is polyphyletic

A phylogenetic study using DNA sequences of the nuclear ribosomal large subunit from 38 species is used to infer the phylogeny of species currently placed in Topeliopsis. The genus is shown to be polyphyletic; monophyly of previous and current circumscriptions of the genus are rejected using two alternative hypothesis tests. Topeliopsis meridiensis is shown to be closer to Chapsa than Topeliopsis, but additional studies are necessary to understand the circumscription of Chapsa. The new genus Melanotopelia Lumbsch & Mangold is described to accommodate T. toensbergii and T. rugosa. These species were previously regarded as aberrant in Topeliopsis because of their thin-walled ascospoies and dark pigmented proper exciple. The new combination Graphis mexicana (Hale) Kalb, Lucking & Lumbsch is proposed and Graphis muscicola and Topeliopsis globosa reduced to synonymy with this species.