Pleurotheciella nilotica sp. nov. (Pleurotheciales, Ascomycota) from freshwater habitats in Egypt

A new species, Pleurotheciella nilotica is described and illustrated from the River Nile, Sohag, Egypt. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of the combined SSU and LSU rDNA placed the new species within Pleurotheciella as a phylogenetically distinct species. P. nilotica formed a basal clade to a node containing P. krabiensis and P. tropica. The new species is characterized by its conidial dimensions being smaller than those recorded in the eleven described species of Pleurotheciella.