New species ofLancisporomyces, Orphella, andParamoebidium, endosymbionts of stonefly nymphs from streams in Nova Scotia, Canada

Abstract

Trichomycetes are endobionts that include both fungal and protistan species living in the guts of aquatic insects. Although widely distributed around the world, the biodiversity of these fungi in Canada is virtually unknown. We report the occurrence of 13 species of trichomycetes associated with stonefly nymphs in the families Capniidae, Leuctridae, Nemouridae, and Taeniopterygidae from collections spanning 8 years. This paper extends the geographical range for a number of known fungal species. We describe four new species of Harpellales, Lancisporomyces anguilliformis, Lancisporomyces falcatus, Lancisporomyces nemouridarum, and Orphella dalhousiensis, including both asexual and sexual features for each, as well as two new species of Paramoebidium (Amoebidiales), Paramoebidium cassidula and Paramoebidium stipula. The observations on zygospore morphology in Lancisporomyces and ontogeny of sexual spores in Orphella broaden our perspective on sexual reproduction in the Harpellales. Also highlighted are data on temporal aspects of species occurrence, asexual and sexual sporulation for some species that show host specificity as well as synchrony in maturation of the endobionts with their stonefly hosts.