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Issue: Vol. 737 No. 3: 14 Jan. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-01-14
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.737.3.1
Page range: 121-130
Abstract views: 47
PDF downloaded: 44

Reassessment of the University of Alcalá Herbarium (Madrid) reveals hidden diversity of the myxomycete genus Lycogala in Spain

H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, Alchevskikh 29, Kharkiv 61002 Ukraine; Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University Greifswald, Soldmannstr. 15, Greifswald D-17487 Germany
Departamento Ciencias de la Vida (Botánica), Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid 28805 Spain
Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University Greifswald, Soldmannstr. 15, Greifswald D-17487 Germany; Departamento Ciencias de la Vida (Botánica), Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid 28805 Spain
Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University Greifswald, Soldmannstr. 15, Greifswald D-17487 Germany
Amoebozoa biodiversity Eumycetozoa Iberian Peninsula molecular barcoding Myxogastrea species identification Fungi

Abstract

The revision of collections, held in the Herbarium of the University of Alcalá (AH) reveals 94 specimens of the myxomycete genus Lycogala, mainly from Spain, but also from Mexico (3 specimens) and France (1). Morphological identification, based on recently developed criteria, allowed identification of 14 Lycogala species, 10 of which are new to Spain, further two are new for Mexico. All species found in Spain were already known from Europe, with the single exception of L. cf. nigroconfusum. The collections of L. paraconfusum and L. guttatum in Mexico represent the first records for the whole of North America. Due to the age of collections, the molecular identification was possible only for nine specimens, thus confirming the identification of three species. To provide reference material for further studies, representative specimens of all taxa were photographed, and the barcoding sequences were submitted to NCBI GenBank.

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How to Cite

Leontyev, D., Moreno, G., López-Villalba, Ángela & Schnittler, M. (2026) Reassessment of the University of Alcalá Herbarium (Madrid) reveals hidden diversity of the myxomycete genus Lycogala in Spain. Phytotaxa 737 (3): 121–130. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.737.3.1