First fossil evidence of Deightoniella and Alternaria asexual morphs from India

Alternaria and Deightoniella represent common ascomycetous plant pathogenic fungi.However, no reliable Alternaria and Deightoniella fossils have been reported till now.Here, we report and describe for the first time asexual morphs (conidiophores, conidia) assignable to modern dematiaceous hyphomycete genera, such as Alternaria (Pleosporaceae: Pleosporales: Dothideomycetes) and Deightoniella (Sordariomycetes: Magnaporthales: Magnaporthaceae) on cuticular fragments of compressed monocot leaves recovered from the middle Siwalik sediments (Late Miocene; 12-8 Ma) of Himachal Himalaya, India.We confirm their taxonomic position based on detailed morphological comparison with those of modern members of Alternaria as well as Deightoniella and discuss their palaeoecological significance in terms of the present-day ecological conditions of modern analogues.This finding also provides an essential data source for understanding their evolution and diversification in deep time.