Morphological and phylogenetic evidence reveals three new arthropod-associated species of Hypocreales (Clavicipitaceae, Bionectriaceae, and Myrotheciomycetaceae) from karst habitats in Guizhou, China

The karst regions of southwest China are rich in biodiversity and have critically threatened ecosystems, harboring unique species that could be new to science. During the investigations of arthropods associated-fungi, several fungal strains were collected. Among these, three new species, <i>Conoideocrella tiankengensis</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> (Clavicipitaceae), <i>Ovicillium zunyiense</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> (Bionectriaceae) and <i>Trichothecium sinense</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> (Myrotheciomycetaceae), isolated from a dead scale insect, larva and spider, respectively, were introduced as novel taxa, based on the morphological characteristics and DNA-based phylogenetic analyses. This is the first time that a species from Myrotheciomycetaceae is reported from the karst habitats. In addition, the genus <i>Myrotheciomyces</i> is treated as a synonym of <i>Trichothecium</i> based on the phylogenetic analysis, and the type species of the former is transferred to the latter genus.