The Family Sarcoscyphaceae (Pezizales, Ascomycota) in Mexico

Background and Aims: The family Sarcoscyphaceae is the fifth most numerous of the order Pezizales with 102 species. This family is characterized by red to bright orange apothecia due to the presence of carotenoid pigments and suboperculate asci with smooth or ornamented spores, longitudinally striate below the optic microscope. The aim of the present study is to perform a taxonomic revision of the family Sarcoscyphaceae in Mexico with macro- and micromorphological characters and to observe the spores with SEM to distinguish the species. Methods: The studied specimens were collected between 2013 and 2018; in addition, those deposited in the fungi collection of the ENCB herbarium were reviewed. These were studied, described and determined following the traditional mycological techniques. The growth habit and vegetation type where the species develop were analyzed, according to the habitat where the species described here grow. Key results: Eighteen species of Sarcoscyphaceae were identified in Mexico, of which Geodina guanacastensis, Nanoscypha pulchra, Phillipsia olivacea and Sarcoscypha austriaca are cited for the first time for the country. The species of this family were mainly associated with the tropical dry forest and tropical rain forest, where the lignicolous habit was dominant with 16 species. Conclusions: The family Sarcoscyphaceae is well-represented in Mexico, being one of the best-studied family of the Order Pezizales in the Phylum Ascomycota. The family presents a remarkably tropical distribution with more than 60% of the species located in tropical dry forest and tropical rain forest. Temperate species have restricted distribution and greater specificity for the host, in most cases conifers.