Elbamycellarosea gen. et sp. nov. (Juncigenaceae, Torpedosporales) isolated from the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract. Elbamycellaroseasp. nov., introduced in the new genus Elbamycella, was collected in the Mediterranean Sea in association with the seagrass Posidoniaoceanica and with the brown alga Padinapavonica. The affiliation of the new taxon to the family Juncigenaceae is supported by both morphology and phylogenetic inference based on a combined nrSSU and nrLSU sequence dataset. Maximum-likelihood and Bayesian phylogeny proved Elbamycellagen. nov. as a distinct genus within Juncigenaceae. The new genus has been compared with closely related genera and is characterised by a unique suite of characters, such as ascospores with polar appendages and peculiar shape and dimension of ascomata and asci.