The anamorphic genus Monotosporella (Ascomycota) from Eocene amber and from modern Agathis resin

The anamorphic fungal genus Monotosporella (Ascomycota, Sordariomycetes) has been recovered from a piece of Early Eocene Indian amber, as well as from the surface of extant resin flows in New Caledonia. The fossil fungus was obtained from the Tarkeshwar Lignite Mine of Gujarat State, western India, and was part of the biota of an early tropical angiosperm rainforest. The amber inclusion represents the second fossil record of Sordariomycetes, as well as the first fossil of its particular order (either Savoryellales or Chaetosphaeriales). The fossil fungus is distinguished from extant representatives by possessing both short conidiophores and small two-septate pyriform conidia, and is described as Monotosporella doerfeltii sp. nov. Inside the amber, the anamorph is attached to its substrate, which is likely the degraded thallus of a cladoniform lichen. The extant New Caledonian species is assigned to Monotosporella setosa. It was found growing on semi-solidified resin flows of Agathis yam (Araucariaceae), and is the first record of Monotosporella from modern resin substrates. (C) 2012 The British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.