Molecular and morphological data reveal two new species of Scolecobasidium

Two species of Scolecobasidium were isolated from soil in Hainan and Hebei Provinces, China. The two taxa develop broadly ellipsoid conidia and ellipsoidal to oblong conidia, respectively. Their taxonomic placement in Scolecobasidium was confirmed by morphological similarity and phylogenetic analysis of the RNA polymerase II subunit b (RPB2) sequence data. The two fungi, which are morphologically distinct to previously described species, and occupy unique positions in the phylogenetic tree, are thus introduced as the new species Scolecobasidium terricola and S. ellipsoideum. They are described and illustrated and compared with similar species in the genus.

► Four valuable fungi were isolated from soil in different locations of China.
► Two novel species of Scolecobasidium were described in this paper.
► The taxa produced broadly ellipsoid conidia with ellipsoidal to oblong conidia.
► The RPB2 analysis is only partly consistent with the morphological comparison.