Articles by Taxonomic Novelty

This study endeavors to clarify the taxonomy of Anthracoidea species occurring in East Asia. Being a cosmopolitan genus, more widely distributed in temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, Anthracoidea is insufficiently studied in East Asia, particularly in Japan and Korea. A comprehensive account of the species composition and distribution of the Anthracoidea species in Japan is presented herein. Further, information about the Anthracoidea species in the Kuriles, Sakhalin, and Korean Peninsula is also provided. Three new smut fungi are described and illustrated as follows: Anthracoidea caricis-grallatoriae on Carex grallatoria from Japan, Anthracoidea lanceolatae on Carex lanceolata from South Korea, and Anthracoidea pseudomichelii on Carex michelii from Central Europe. For Cintractia japonica on ‘Carex capillacea’, a new combination, Anthracoidea japonica, is proposed. Anthracoidea grallatoriae Vánky is a superfluous name and a synonym of A. japonica. The existence of the type specimen of Cintractia subglobosa S. Ito makes the lectotypification of C. subglobosa redundant. Similarly, a lectotype of Cintractia variabilis S. Ito is also made redundant. Based on a comparative morphological investigation, 20 Anthracoidea species were established in Japan, all of them on host plants of Carex. In addition to Anthracoidea caricis-grallatoriae, six other species, A. capillaris, A. humilis, A. irregularis, A. karii, A. michelii, and A. sempervirentis, are reported for the first time from Japan. Eight plant species are reported as new hosts of Anthracoidea species in Japan: Carex gmelinii with Anthracoidea buxbaumii; Carex foliosissima, C. mitrata, C. morrowii, C. nervata, and C. subebracteata with Anthracoidea caryophylleae; Carex fernaldiana and C. tenuinervis with Anthracoidea microsora. Ten fungus-host combinations, Anthracoidea capillaris on Carex tenuiformis, A. caryophylleae on Carex leucochlora, A. caryophylleae on Carex mitrata, A. caryophylleae on Carex foliosissima, A. caryophylleae on Carex morrowii, A. humilis on Carex lanceolata, A. karii on Carex omiana var. monticola, A. microsora on Carex fernaldiana, A. microsora on Carex tenuinervis, and A. sempervirentis on Carex makinoensis, are new for science. Additional distribution records are given for some Anthracoidea species hitherto known from Japan. The genus Anthracoidea is recorded for the first time from the Korean Peninsula, with three species from South Korea: A. caryophylleae on Carex leucochlora, A. lanceolatae on Carex lanceolata, and A. siderostictae on Carex siderosticta. Two species, Anthracoidea caryophylleae and A. variabilis, are reported for the first time from the Kuriles. Anthracoidea variabilis is a new species for Russia. Three species, Anthracoidea globularis, A. heterospora, and A. paniceae, are reported for the first time from Sakhalin. The study further found that four fungus-host combinations had been wrongly recorded in the literature, specifically, Carex cespitosa is not a host of Anthracoidea variabilis; Carex foliosissima and C. conica are not hosts of Anthracoidea microsora; and Carex tarumensis is not a host of Anthracoidea buxbaumii.