Mitigation of fungal biodeterioration on paper documents and artworks represents a challenge to conservators worldwide. Numerous lists of fungal species have been identified from paper collections, but are those species responsible for the respective biodeterioration phenomena or just environmental contaminants? The present work was aimed at obtaining an association between specific fungal stains and causative fungal species. 23 stains from three paper documents were sampled. Fungal structures observed in situ with optical and scanning electron microscopy were compared with the identification of isolates by molecular biology tools. Correlation between the observed fungal structures and the identified fungal isolates was achieved, varying from 13% to 64% of the samples within the three studied documents. Grey/black and dark brown stains were associated with Chaetomium globosum, C. murorum, Penicillium chrysogenum, P. commune, Myxotrichum deflexum and Stachybotrys chartarum. Eurotium rubrum was isolated from a foxing stain and Penicillium citrinum was identified on light orange stains. Resumo A mitigação da biodeterioração causada por fungos em obras de arte e documentos em papel representa um desafio para os conservadores em todo o mundo. Inúmeras listas de espécies fúngicas têm sido identificadas a partir de coleções em papel, mas serão estas espécies responsáveis pelos respetivos fenómenos de biodeterioração? O presente estudo teve como objetivo associar espécies de fungos específicas a manchas observadas em documentos e obras de arte em papel. Foram amostradas 23 manchas existentes em três obras em papel. A observação in situ das estruturas fúngicas, com recurso a microscópio ótico e microscópio eletrónico de varrimento, foi comparada com a identificação de isolados através de técnicas de biologia molecular. As manchas negras e de tom castanho-escuro foram associadas às espécies Chaetomium globosum, C. murorum, Penicillium chrysogenum, P. commune, Myxotrichum deflexum e Stachybotrys chartarum. A espécie Eurotium rubrum foi isolada de uma mancha de foxing e a espécie Penicillium citrinum foi identificada em manchas de tom laranja claro.
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