Publication Date:
2024-01-12
Description:
Species of the ectomycorrhizal genus Lactifluus, and often entire sections, are typically unique to a single
\ncontinent. Given these biogeographic patterns, an interesting region to study their diversity is Central America and
\nthe Caribbean, since the region is closely connected to and often considered a part of the North American continent, but biogeographically belong to the Neotropical realm, and comprises several regions with different geologic
\nhistories. Based on a multi-gene phylogeny and morphological study, this study shows that Central America, Mexico
\nand the Caribbean harbour at least 35 Lactifluus species, of which 33 were never reported outside of this region.
\nIt was found that species from the Caribbean generally show affinities to South American taxa, while species
\nfrom the Central American mainland generally show affinities to Northern hemispheric taxa. We hypothesise that
\nhost specificity and/or climate play a crucial role in these different origins of diversity. Because of these different
\naffinities, Caribbean islands harbour a completely different Lactifluus diversity than the Central American mainland.
\nThe majority of species occurring on the islands can be considered endemic to certain islands or island groups. In
\nthis paper, detailed morphological descriptions are given, with a focus on the unique diversity of the islands, and
\nidentification keys to all hitherto described Lactifluus species occurring in Central America and the Caribbean are
\nprovided. One new section, Lactifluus sect. Nebulosi, and three new species, Lactifluus guadeloupensis, Lactifluus
\nlepus and Lactifluus marmoratus are described.
Keywords:
Ecology
;
Evolution
;
Behavior and Systematics
;
Antilles
;
Basidiomycota
;
ectomycorrhizal fungi
;
French West Indies
;
integrative taxonomy
;
Latin America
;
Middle America
;
new taxa
;
Russulales
Repository Name:
National Museum of Natural History, Netherlands
Type:
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Format:
application/pdf
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