Entomopathogenic fungi (Hypocreales: Ophiocordycipitaceae) infecting bark lice (Psocoptera) in Dominican and Baltic amber

George Poinar; Fernando E Vega

doi:10.1080/21501203.2019.1706657

Entomopathogenic fungi (Hypocreales: Ophiocordycipitaceae) infecting bark lice (Psocoptera) in Dominican and Baltic amber

Mycology. 2019 Dec 22;11(1):71-77. doi: 10.1080/21501203.2019.1706657. eCollection 2020.

Authors

George Poinar¹, Fernando E Vega²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
² Sustainable Perennial Crops Laboratory, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, USA.

Abstract

Ophiocordyceps dominicanus Poinar & Vega sp. nov. in Dominican amber and Polycephalomyces baltica Poinar & Vega sp. nov. (Hypocreales: Ophiocordycipitaceae) in Baltic amber are described as entomopathogenic fungi of bark lice (Psocoptera). The specimens possess several features unknown in extant synnematous entomopathogenic fungi such as a tubular dark synnema with a straight, pointed tip bearing spores over the entire surface in O. dominicanus, and a globular yellowish synnema developing on the tip of the host's antenna in P. baltica. These are the only known fossil entomopathogenic fungi of bark lice, making them unique not only for their characters but also in respect to their selection of developmental sites on their bark lice hosts.

Keywords: Dominican and Baltic amber; Fossil fungus; Hypocreales; Psocoptera; bark lice.