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During a survey of saprophytic microfungi on decomposing woody, herbaceous debris and soil from different regions in Southern Europe, a wide range of interesting species of asexual ascomycetes were found. Phylogenetic analyses based on partial gene sequences of SSU, LSU and ITS proved that most of these fungi were related to Sordariomycetes and Dothideomycetes and to lesser extent to Leotiomycetes and Eurotiomycetes. Four new monotypic orders with their respective families are proposed here, i.e. Lauriomycetales, Lauriomycetaceae; Parasympodiellales, Parasympodiellaceae; Vermiculariopsiellales, Vermiculariopsiellaceae and Xenospadicoidales, Xenospadicoidaceae. One new order and three families are introduced here to accommodate orphan taxa, viz. Kirschsteiniotheliales, Castanediellaceae, Leptodontidiaceae and Pleomonodictydaceae. Furthermore, Bloxamiaceae is validated. Based on morphology and phylogenetic affinities Diplococcium singulare, Trichocladium opacum and Spadicoides atra are moved to the new genera Paradiplococcium, Pleotrichocladium and Xenospadicoides, respectively. Helicoon fuscosporum is accommodated in the genus Magnohelicospora. Other novel genera include Neoascotaiwania with the type species N. terrestris sp. nov., and N. limnetica comb. nov. previously accommodated in Ascotaiwania; Pleomonodictys with P. descalsii sp. nov. as type species, and P. capensis comb. nov. previously accommodated in Monodictys; Anapleurothecium typified by A. botulisporum sp. nov., a fungus morphologically similar to Pleurothecium but phylogenetically distant; Fuscosclera typified by F. lignicola sp. nov., a meristematic fungus related to Leotiomycetes; Pseudodiplococcium typified by P. ibericum sp. nov. to accommodate an isolate previously identified as Diplococcium pulneyense; Xyladictyochaeta typified with X. lusitanica sp. nov., a foliicolous fungus related to Xylariales and similar to Dictyochaeta, but distinguished by polyphialidic conidiogenous cells produced on setiform conidiophores. Other novel species proposed are Brachysporiella navarrica, Catenulostroma lignicola, Cirrenalia iberica, Conioscypha pleiomorpha, Leptodontidium aureum, Pirozynskiella laurisilvatica, Parasympodiella lauri and Zanclospora iberica. To fix the application of some fungal names, lectotypes and/or epitypes are designated for Magnohelicospora iberica, Sporidesmium trigonellum, Sporidesmium opacum, Sporidesmium asperum, Camposporium aquaticum and Psilonia atra.

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Recent publications have argued that there are potentially serious consequences for researchers in recognising distinct genera in the terminal fusarioid clade of the family Nectriaceae . Thus, an alternate hypothesis, namely a very broad concept of the genus Fusarium was proposed. In doing so, however, a significant body of data that supports distinct genera in Nectriaceae based on morphology, biology, and phylogeny is disregarded. A DNA phylogeny based on 19 orthologous protein-coding genes was presented to support a very broad concept of Fusarium at the F1 node in Nectriaceae . Here, we demonstrate that re-analyses of this dataset show that all 19 genes support the F3 node that represents Fusarium sensu stricto as defined by F. sambucinum (sexual morph synonym Gibberella pulicaris ). The backbone of the phylogeny is resolved by the concatenated alignment, but only six of the 19 genes fully support the F1 node, representing the broad circumscription of Fusarium. Furthermore, a re-analysis of the concatenated dataset revealed alternate topologies in different phylogenetic algorithms, highlighting the deep divergence and unresolved placement of various Nectriaceae lineages proposed as members of Fusarium . Species of Fusarium s. str. are characterised by Gibberella sexual morphs, asexual morphs with thin- or thick-walled macroconidia that have variously shaped apical and basal cells, and trichothecene mycotoxin production, which separates them from other fusarioid genera. Here we show that the Wollenweber concept of Fusarium presently accounts for 20 segregate genera with clear-cut synapomorphic traits, and that fusarioid macroconidia represent a character that has been gained or lost multiple times throughout Nectriaceae . Thus, the very broad circumscription of Fusarium is blurry and without apparent synapomorphies, and does not include all genera with fusarium-like macroconidia, which are spread throughout Nectriaceae ( e.g. , Cosmosporella , Macroconia , Microcera ). In this study four new genera are introduced, along with 18 new species and 16 new combinations. These names convey information about relationships, morphology, and ecological preference that would otherwise be lost in a broader definition of Fusarium . To assist users to correctly identify fusarioid genera and species, we introduce a new online identification database, Fusarioid-ID, accessible at www.fusarium.org . The database comprises partial sequences from multiple genes commonly used to identify fusarioid taxa ( ...