New records and barcode sequence data of wood-inhabiting polypores in Benin with notes on their phylogenetic placements and distribution

Abstract

Wood-inhabiting fungi (WIF), such as polypores, are extremely species-rich and play vital roles in the functioning of forest ecosystems as decomposers. Despite the importance of polypores, our knowledge of the diversity and distribution of these fungi is still poor in general and especially for West Africa. To advance our knowledge we here summarise results from field collections between 2017 and 2021 and present (i) a taxonomic overview, (ii) phylogenetic placements and (iii) an illustrated catalogue of wood-inhabiting polypore fungi with colour pictures. During the field sampling campaigns, we collected 647 specimens. Based on morphological characteristics and molecular barcode data, 76 polypore species belonging to six orders, 15 families and 39 genera were identified. Of the 76 species, 30 are new to the West Africa, 69 new to Benin, and two new combinations Fuscoporia beninensis and Megasporia minuta are proposed. With this summary, we provide new data for further research.