Three new species of Ophiocordyceps and overview of anamorph types in the genus and the family Ophiocordyceptaceae

Three new Ophiocordyceps species from Japan are described: 1) O. coenomyia, which is parasitic to awl-fly larvae; 2) O. arborescens; and 3) O. macroacicularis, which parasitize moth larvae. Ophiocordyceps coenomyia is characterized by a globose, alutaceous fertile part at the apex of cylindrical, luteofulvous-to-pale yellow stroma, immersed lanceolate perithecia, and ascospores dividing into partspores. Based on its morphology and phylogenetic position, the new species is closely related to O. heteropoda. The latter two species produce superficial oval perithecia at the apex of cylindrical stroma, multiseptate ascospores, and Hirsutella-type anamorphs on the culturemedia. However, they are distinguished by the shape and size of their stroma. Multi-locus sequence analysis revealed that O. arborescens and O. macroacicularis were in the same phylogenetic clade, which is a sister to the clade containing O. sinensis. The distribution of anamorphic types in Ophiocordyceps is discussed.