Cordycepspoluscapitis sp. nov., an ant-pathogenic fungus from Guizhou, China

A species of entomopathogenic fungi was found on ants in Guizhou Province, China. It is described as Cordyceps poluscapitis (Cordycipitaceae), a novel species with both a sexual and an asexual morph. Cordyceps species are characterized by producing brightly coloured, fleshy stromata and long, filiform ascospores. Cordyceps poluscapitis is unique in that it is parasitic on ants and produces multiple-septate conidia. Multi-gene phylogeny based on combined sequence data of 6-loci genes (ITS, SSU, LSU, TEF, RPB1 and RPB2) confirmed that it is a new species in Cordyceps.

Automated summary

A novel species of entomopathogenic fungi, Cordyceps poluscapitis, was discovered on ants in Guizhou Province, China. It exhibits both sexual and asexual morphology, characterized by brightly colored, fleshy stromata and long, filiform ascospores. Additionally, this unique species parasitizes ants and produces conidia with multiple septa. Phylogenetic analysis based on sequence data of 6-loci genes (ITS, SSU, LSU, TEF, RPB1 and RPB2) confirmed it as a new species in Cordyceps.