33° Notes and brief articlesin broad apiculate asci scattered through the centraltissue, and that these asci became diffluent at anearly stage. He also observed that the spores becamedark purple in an iodine solution. Dennis, in a noteon the type packet, observed 'Spore mass at onceblue in Melzer then decolorizing'. J. & E. Kohl­meyer (1964), who listed this fungus from Scotland,indicated that the fruiting bodies were' erumpent,finally partly immersed or superficial', but noevidence of an erumpent origin was seen in theSussex material. The Kohlmeyers described theasci as unitunicate, 27'0-43'5 x 18'0 to 26'5 um,with a peduncle 8'0-14'5 x 3'0-5'5 pm, and notedthat they were 'broadly clavate or ellipsoidal,apiculate (apically thick-walled).' They too notedthat the asci occurred' scattered irregularly throughthe centre of the ascocarp between sterile hyphae(" capillitium")'. These same authors found theascospores to have a range of 8-16 pm diam, whichis slightly larger than those of the type material asmeasured by Dennis and myself (8-11 pm), and of

the Sussex material. However, they also reportedthe ascospores as 'staining blue with iodine'.Examination of the type material, however, showedthat the ascospores were unaffected by Melzer'sreagent although the gel (?) in which they weresuspended turned faintly blue. The developmentof Amylocarpus encephaloides was described indetail by Lindau (1899). J. & E. Kohlmeyer (1964)list it from the Baltic Sea: Denmark, Germany;The Atlantic: North America (Massachusetts);Belgium, Britain; The Pacific: North America(Washington).

REFERENCES

CURREY, F. (1859). On the existence of amorphousstarch in a new tuberaceous fungus. Proceedings of theRoyal Society 9, 119-123.

KOHLMEYER, J, & KOHLMEYER, E. (1964). leonesFungorum Maris. 1. Weinhein, Cramer.

LINDAU, G. (1899). Ueber Entwickelung und Ernahrungvon Amylocarpus encephaloides Curr. H edwigia 38, 1-19.

AN AQUATIC SPECIES, PYTHlUM TORULOlDES SP. NOV.,FROM ALGERIA

BY BERNARD PAUL

Institut de Biologie, Unioersite d'Oran, Es-senia, Oran, Algeria

A new species of Pythium, isolated from Algerian waters, is named Pythium toruloides becauseof its toruloid antheridial complex. The main morphological characteristics of the species aregiven and its differences from other known species are discussed.

In studies on the occurrence of aquatic fungi fromthe northwestern and southwestern parts ofAlgeriasome species of Pythium were isolated. Of these,some are interesting in that their oogonia containtwo or more oospores. The occurrence of Pythiummultisporum Poitras in Algeria has already beenestablished (Paul & Beghdadi, 1984); a new speciesPythium polycarpum has been isolated and recentlydescribed (Paul, 1985). This species has filamentousinflated sporangia and multiple oospores in theoogonia. Another species of Pythium with multipleoospores is described here. Its antheridia are madeup ofcomplicated aggregations of hyphae which aretoruloid and twisted around the oogonia. It istherefore named Pythium toruloides. It was isolatedfrom a water collection taken from the reservoir ofBarrage Cheurfas near Sig in northwestern Algeria.Two more Pythium species producing multisporousoogonia are also being studied and will be thesubject ofother publications. In this paper the maintaxonomic features of the new species are outlinedand a briefdiscussion justifies the reason for it beingconsidered undescribed.

Water samples were collected from different

points in the reservoir near Sig and brought to thelaboratory. Fungi were isolated by using the sametechniques described by Paul (1982, 1983, 1984,1985). Bacterial contamination was a constantproblem. As media containing antibiotics oftenchanged the growth of the fungus, another simpletechnique was devised to obtain bacteria-freecultures. A small piece of contaminated culture wasinoculated on water agar containing 2 % agar. After3-4 days incubation, the agar was colonized leavingthe bacteria in the vicinity of the original inoculum.A small block of colonized agar was cut from thedistal end of the colony and transferred into a sterilePetri dish containing sterilized distilled water andsome boiled hemp seed halves which were kept incontact with the agar block. In 2 days a bacteria-freecolony was obtained on the hemp seed.

Pure cultures thus obtained were transferred toother solid media such as cornmeal agar and potatocarrot agar. These were incubated at differenttemperatures. The fungus was identified by usingthe standard keys ofMiddleton (1943), Waterhouse(1968) and Plaats-Niterink (1981).

The fungus grows well on all the above media and

Notes and brief articles 331

on hemp seeds in water. Sporangia and zoosporeswere not produced either in water cultures or on theagar plates. To induce sporangial formation it wasgrown on hemp seeds and on grass blades indistilled and pond water. Sporangia were neverproduced, in spite of the colonies being flooded andcontinuously irrigated with water. On the otherhand sexual structures were abundant. Hyphalbodies were also numerous .

Pythium toruloides Paul sp .nov . (F igs 1-39)Oogonia 17'5-30'0 pm diam, glabra, terminalia velintercalaria, lata a pediculis rectis aut tortis, Oosporaesaepissime apleuroticae, una aut plurimae in singulooogonia, 5-28 p diam, crassotunicatae (2- 4 pm). Anthe­ridia diclinata vel rnonoclinata, unum aut plurima circasingulum oogonium; efficiunt coagmentationen elemen­torumtoruloidorumcircaoogonium;postfecundationem,reliquum cellae antheridialis saepe simile est campanae.Sporangianon observata. Conidiam(aut corpora myceli­ana) formisvaria; quae globosa sunt 11'2-35'2 pm diam,terminalia vel intercalaria, aut interdum 2 vel 3concatenata, Mycelium bene ramificatum, sine loculis;hypha principalis6'5 pm.

Holotypus in herbario universitatis Oranensisconserv­atus (R- 12).

In water cultures the mycelium is colourless andwell-branched, and the hyphae are filled withgranular cytoplasm. Most of the hyphae arecoenocytic but occasionally older hyphae areseptate. On solid media the colony has a rhizoidalappearance due to profuse branching. The mainhyphae are up to 6'5 p.m wide. Colonies oncornmeal agar are submerged, forming a coarsechrysanthemum-like pattern. On potato carrot agarthe colonies are similar and average daily growth at25 °C is 12'5-13'0 rnrn, No aerial mycelium wasformed on either of these media. Cardinal tempera­tures are : minimum 7°, optimum 25° and maximum35°.

Sporangia are not formed but hyphal bodies areproduced plentifully, varying in shape fromspherical, globose, subglobose, pyriform, obovate,doliform, oval and apiculate to somewhat peanut­shaped. They can either be terminal or intercalary,and at times are found in chains of 2 or 3. Thespherical ones measure 11'2-35'2,um diam (av.24'8), the elongated ones 50 p.m x 32 p.m. Thecontents of these bodies are densely granular.Oogonia are smooth-walled, spherical, mostlyterminal, sometimes intercalary. They are borne onstalks which can be straight, twisted or contortedand measure 17'5-30'0 p.m diam (av. 23'1). Thecontents of the oogonia are densely granular at first,but later an oil droplet appears at times near theperiphery touching the oogonial wall. Antheridiaare both mono- and diclinous . Every oogoniumreceives 1-5 or more antheridial hyphae comingfrom all directions. Usually the y are hypogynous.

These branches tend to divide and redivide andwrap around the oogonia, soon thereafter formingaround them a complicated, toruloidal antheridialcomplex. The contents of the antheridial branchesare dense and appear greenish in colour. Theantheridia are not persistent. They disappear afterfertilization. Remnants of the antheridial complexare found here and there as a mass of greenish cells.The complexity of the antheridial aggregationmakes it difficult to determine exactly the number,nature and type of contacts of the antheridia withthe oogonia. Usually after fertilization the remainof the antheridial cells are found attached to theoogonia. They are usually bell-shaped or like anappendage. Oospores are smooth-walled, generallyaplerotic, one to many (up to 8) per oogonium. Thesingle ones measure 11'2-3o'0 /lm (av. 21'5 p.m). Inoogonia containing many oospores they are muchsmaller (5-8 pm diam). The wall of the oospore isgenerally thick and uneven, 2-4 pm (av. 2'95) thick.Occasionally oospores have been observed in thehyphal bodies.

The main distinguishing features of P. toruloidesare : the presence of an antheridial complexcomposed of toruloid inflated hyphal elementsaround the oogonia ; the presence of multisporousoogonia; the presence of hyphal swellings whichcan be of different sizes and shapes ; and apleroticoospores with thick walls.

Double oospores have been reported in somespecies of Pythium, but multisporous oogonia havebeen found only in P. multisporum Poitras and morerecently in P. polycarpum Paul. P. toruloides isdifferent from both of these species in many ways.P. multisporum has well-defined sporangia pro­ducing zoospores, its antheridia are simpler, notforming a complex, and its oospores are plerotic.While P . toruloides has no sporangium, it does havethe antheridial complex, and its oospores are mostlyaplerotic. It also differs from P. polycarpum in nothaving the filamentous inflated type of sporangia,oospores being mostly aplerotic rather thanplerotic, and in its temperature-growth relations.

The author wishes to express his thanks to theRev .FatherJean-LouisDeclais of Ai'n-Temouchentfor the Latin diagnosis, and to Mr GerardTremblin and Miss Naziha Zariahene for their helpin photomicrography.

REFERENCES

MIDDLETON, J. T . (1943). The taxonomy,host range,andgeographical distribution of the genus Pythium.M emoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club 20, 1-1 71.

PAUL, B. (1982). Champignons aquatiques du saharaAlgerien : Pythium Pringsheim. Cryptogamie-My cologie3,57-62.

332

33

c!f.~;\ ;~

34

Notes and brief articles

30

37

25 J.lrn

38

27

Figs 1-38. Pythium toruloides. 1-14, Hyphal bodies; 15-20, antheridia and oogonia; 21-38, unisporous andrnultisporous oogonia.

Notes and brief articles 333

Ca)

(e)

(e)

(b)

./

(d)

(f)

All photos, scale =

16 1lm

-,

Fig. 39. Pythium toruloides. (a), hyphal bodies; (b), antheridial complex made up of toruloid elements; (c),young oogonia surrounded by antheridia; (d-f), unisporous and multisporous oogonia. All photos, scalebar = 16 ftm.

334 Notes and brief articlesPAUL, B. (1983). Aquatic fungi of Algeria: some species

of Saprolegniaceae and Pythiaceae. Nova Hedwigia 37,463-471.

PAUL, B. (1984). Aquatic fungi of Algeria: Achlya radiosaMaurizio. Hydrobiologia 108, 197-199.

PAUL, B. (1985). A new species of Pythium from Algerianwaters. Hydrobiologia (in press).

PAUL, B. & BEGHDADI, A. (1984). Aquatic fungi of Algeria:Pythium multisporum Poitras. Cryptogamie-Mycologie 5,189-192 .

PLAATS-NITERINK, A. JVander (1981). Monograph of thegenus Pythium. Studies in Mycology (C.B.S.) 21, 1-242.

WATERHOUSE, G. M. (1968). The genus Pythium Pring­sheim. Mycological Papers (C.M.I.) 110, 1-50.

UMBELOPSIS FUSIFORMIS SP.NOV. FROM A WET SCLEROPHYLLFOREST AND A NEW COMBINATION FOR MORTIERELLA OVATA

BY HIN-YUEN YIP

Botany School, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia

The taxonomy of the subgenus Micromucor of Mortierella is briefly discussed, and Mortierellaouata is transferred to Umbelopsis. A species of Umbelopsis with fusiform sporangia isolatedfrom soil of a wet sc1erophyll forest is described here as U. fusiformis.

In the genus Mortierella Coemans, species relatedto Mortierella ramanniana (Moller) Linnem. wereconsidered to form a distinct group without affinityto other species in the genus and were consequentlyplaced in the subgenus Micromucor (Gams, 1977).Species in this subgenus are characterized byvelutinous growth and dull red or brownishsporangia, the exception being Mortierella nanaLinnem. which has hyaline sporangia. Morerecently von Arx (1982) elevated subgen. Micro­mucor to generic status and transferred to this newgenus Mortierella ramanniana, M. isabellinaOudem. and M. longicollis Dixon-Stewart; M.ramanniana var. angulispora (Naumov) Linnem.and M. rammanniana var. autotrophica Evans wereignored in the combination. The remaining speciesin the subgenus, which are Mortierella nana, M.roseonana W. Gams & Gleeson, and M. vinaceaDixon-Stewart, were reassigned to UmbelopsisAmos & Barnett. The branching habit of thesporangiophore was used as the main feature forseparating the species into the two genera.

In M icromucor, sporangiophores give rise to longand erect branches near the base (Fig. 1, A-B). Incontrast, sporangiophores of Umbelopsis produceone or more vesicles which bear either one or anumbel of several short branches (Fig. 1, e-D). Thiscriterion for delineating the two genera is, however,untenable since Mortierella isabellina has beenclearly shown by Turner (1963) to exhibit thebranching habits of both Umbelopsis and Micro­mucor. Furthermore species in subgen. Micromucorare closely related to one another in terms oftexture, colony colour and shape of sporangiospores.The proposal for two genera for this group of fungitherefore appears to be unwarranted. Currentresearch on subgen. Micromucor at c.B.S., Baarn,The Netherlands, has indicated a preference for the

reassignment of all species in the subgenus toUmbelopsis. Studies are also being undertaken intothe feasibility of placing these fungi in the Mucor­aceae Dumort. rather than the MortierellaceaeA. Fischer (Gams, pers. comm.). In view of thisresearch Mortierella ouata (Fig. 1 E) is transferredto Umbelopsis, and the present new species offungus is assigned to the same genus.

Umbelopsis ovata (Yip) comb.nov.Mortierella ouata Yip, Trans. Br. Mycol. Soc. 79,

164 (1982).

A previously undescribed species of Umbelopsiswith fusiform sporangia was isolated during arecent study of the incidence of Cylindrocarpondestructans (Zins.) Scholten in soils of a wetsclerophyll forest at Wallaby Creek, 70 km north­north-east ofMelbourne; the dominant tree speciesin the forest is Eucalyptus regnans Muell. MaltExtract Agar (MEA) (Blakeslee, 1915) and DifcoCorn Meal Agar (CMA) were used for growing theculture of Umbelopsis under natural diffused lightand in darkness. Microscopic features ofthe funguswere studied and illustrated from aqueous mountsmade near margins of colonies on CMA plates insitu. This was necessary because in mounts onslides the delicate sporing structures of the funguswould readily distort or break. References to shapesare those in Ainsworth (1971), and to colour thoseof Kornerup & Wanscher (1975)·

Umbelopsis fusiformis sp.nov. (Fig. 2)

Coloniae in agaro fermenti cum temperatura 20-21 °Cpositae, quae post duodecim dies sub luce naturalidiffusaque 57--60 mm extenduntur. Texturarn praebentvelutinam, cum incremento aerio praecipue sporangio­phororum; substratum mycelii densi; margines 1-1'5 mm