Gloeocystidiellum kenyense in Azores and Madeira

The aim of this study was to clarify the identity of several collections of Gloeocystidiellum from Azores Archipelago and Madeira Island that were initially related to the Gloeocystidiellum porosum-clavuligerum group. Three new ITS nrDNA sequences were aligned and analysed phylogenetically with 18 homologous sequences from GenBank. The two main lineages, with very high bootstrap value, that were detected correspond to two well-separated species, G. kenyense and G. clavuligerum. The sequences obtained from Azores and Madeira specimens clustered in the G. kenyense clade. Gloeocystidiellum kenyense is described and illustrated from the specimens collected in Macaronesian region, and its affinities with G. clavuligerum are discussed.