MICROASCUS BREVICAULIS SP. NOV., THE TELEOMORPH OF SCOPULARIOPSIS BREVICAULIS, SUPPORTS PLACEMENT OF SCOPULARIOPSIS WITH THE MICROASCACEAE

Five isolates of Scopulariopsis brevicaulis have been found to form pe rithecia in addition to typical conidia. The teleomorph is described a s Microascus brevicaulis sp. nov., characterized by small (70-130 mu m diam), black, ostiolate ascocarps that are papillate or very short-ne cked, and with a peridium of textura angularis. The ascospores are ren iform, 5-6 x 3.5-4.5 mu m, smooth, and pale orange in mass. Although o ther species of Microascus produce a Scopulariopsis state in culture, this discovery now definitively links S. brevicaulis, the type species of Scopulariopsis, to the Microascaceae.