Metapochonia doupengshanensis W. K. Lin, Y. M. Zhou & L. L. Lou 2026, sp. nov.

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Metapochonia doupengshanensis W. K. Lin, Y. M. Zhou & L. L. Lou sp. nov. Fig. 4 Etymology. The specific epithet refers to Doupengshan Scenic Area, the locality where the species was collected. Type. China, • Guizhou Province, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Duyun City, Doupengshan Scenic Area (26°21'31"N, 107°25'16"E), from humus substrates accumulated within tree holes, 23 October 2025, collected by Li-Li Lou (holotype: GZUIFR DPS 110, dried culture specimen; ex-type culture: GZUIFR DPS 111, derived from the holotype material). Description. Sexual morph: Not observed. Asexual morph: On PDA after 14 days at 25 ° C, colonies were slow-growing, reaching 38–41 mm in diameter, surface white, floccose, subcircular, with an entire margin and raised center; reverse smooth, orange-yellow to yellow. Hyphae hyaline, smooth-walled, branched, septate, 1–2 μm wide. Conidiophores arising from aerial hyphae, mostly prostrate, rarely erect, hyaline, smooth-walled. Phialides solitary or occasionally in pairs, slender, with a cylindrical basal portion, tapering toward the apex, 15–24.5 × 1–2.5 μm (n = 30). Conidia produced at the tips of phialides, solitary or in globose to subglobose heads, unicellular, hyaline, globose to ellipsoidal, 2–2.5 × 1.5–2 μm (mean = 2.0 × 1.5 μm, n = 30). Chlamydospores and crystals not observed. Habitat. On humus substrates collected from tree holes of unidentified tree species. Distribution. China, Guizhou Province, Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Duyun City. Notes. Phylogenetic analyses based on multi-locus sequence data revealed that Metapochonia doupengshanensis forms a distinct and well-supported clade within the genus Metapochonia (100 % ML / 1 PP). It is phylogenetically placed in a subclade together with M. lutea, M. microbactrospora, M. parasitica, and M. rubescens, indicating a close relationship with this group of species. Morphologically, the genus Metapochonia is characterized by producing conidia on slender phialides, which may be verticillate or solitary, and most species are also known to produce chlamydospores. Metapochonia doupengshanensis is morphologically most similar to M. rubescens, but can be distinguished by its globose to ellipsoidal conidia (2–2.5 × 1.5–2 μm), whereas M. rubescens produces globose to subglobose conidia (2.5–3.5 × 2.0–3.0 μm) (Zare et al. 2001). Additionally, pairwise sequence analysis of the tef - 1 α gene revealed that M. doupengshanensis differs from its close relatives by 11–25 bp with 1–3 gaps. Specifically, it showed 98.8 % similarity with M. rubescens (11 bp, 3 gaps), 98.6 % with M. lutea (13 bp, 1 gap), 97.8 % with M. microbactrospora (20 bp, 3 gaps), and 97.4 % with M. parasitica (25 bp, 1 gap). Species delimitation in this study was based on an integrative taxonomic approach, including an independent and well-supported placement in the multi-locus phylogeny, tef - 1 α sequence divergence from closely related species, and diagnosable morphological differences. Therefore, both morphological and molecular data support the recognition of M. doupengshanensis as a new species within Metapochonia.

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