Morphological and phylogenetic analyses reveal two new entomopathogenic fungi within the genus Ophiocordyceps (Ophiocordycipitaceae, Hypocreales)

This study reports on two new species, <i>Ophiocordyceps simaoensis</i> and <i>O. guishanensis</i>, from Yunnan Province, Southwestern China. These two species are introduced based on the morphological comparisons and phylogenetic evidence of a multigene dataset (nr<i>SSU</i>, nr<i>LSU</i>, <i>tef-1α</i>, <i>rpb1</i>, and <i>rpb2</i>). Phylogenetic analyses reveal that <i>O. simaoensis</i> is closely related to <i>O. longistipes</i> and <i>O. fusiformis</i>, whereas <i>O. guishanensis</i> shares a close relationship with <i>O. acicularis</i> and <i>O. liaoningensis</i>. Morphologically, <i>O. simaoensis</i> can be distinguished from its phylogenetically close relatives by its smaller, immersed perithecia, shorter asci and ascospores. <i>Ophiocordyceps guishanensis</i> differs from <i>O. acicularis</i> and <i>O. liaoningensis</i> by its smaller asci.