''Myrmecopterula nudihortorum'' is a species of fungus in the family ''

Pterulaceae The ''Pterulaceae'' are a family (biology), family of fungi in the order Agaricales. According to a 2008 estimate, the family contained 99 species previously distributed among 12 genus, genera. More recent data from molecular phylogenetic reconstr ...

''. It is associated with fungi cultivating ants of the genus ''

Apterostigma ''Apterostigma'' is a genus of New World ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae. Two species have been described from fossils preserved in Dominican amber, while the others are extant. They are fungus-growing ants, though, unlike the majority of other ...

.''

Taxonomy

''M. nudihortorum'' was originally classified as ''Pterula nudihortorum'' by the American mycologist

Bryn Tjader Mason Dentinger Bryn is a Welsh word meaning hill. It may also refer to: Places United Kingdom See also UK location England * Bryn, Greater Manchester ** Bryn (ward), an electoral ward in Wigan ** Bryn railway station * Cornwall Wales * Bryn, an electoral di ...

in 2014. Before being formally classified it was referred to in studies on fungus growing ants as ant cultivar G4 and was found in ant nests belonging to the ''

Apterostigma manni ''Apterostigma'' is a genus of New World ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae. Two species have been described from fossils preserved in Dominican amber, while the others are extant. They are fungus-growing ants, though, unlike the majority of ot ...

'' subclade. It was placed in the new genus ''

Myrmecopterula ''Myrmecopterula'' is a genus of coral fungi in the ''Pterulaceae'' family with species which are associated with ant domestication by members of the genus ''Apterostigma''. Taxonomy The ''Myrmecopterula'' genus was created in 2020 when the ' ...

'' by the mycologists Caio A. Leal-Dutra,

and Gareth W. Griffith in 2020.

Description

Unlike ''M. velohortorum'' (G2) which is cultivated in veiled hanging gardens, ''M. nudihortorum'' is cultivated in spongelike masses on the bottom of the garden cavity either under logs or in cavities excavated in the ground. The garden is not enveloped in or suspended by a woven veil. This nest building behaviour is more similar to that of lower attine ants which engage in cultivation of Lepiotaceous fungi belonging to the G3 group. However only one species of ''Apterostigma'', ''

Apterostigma auriculatum ''Apterostigma'' is a genus of New World ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae. Two species have been described from fossils preserved in Dominican amber, while the others are extant. They are fungus-growing ants, though, unlike the majority of othe ...

'' was documented as cultivating the G3 fungus.

Similar species

Myrmecopterula moniliformis ''Myrmecopterula moniliformis'' is a species of fungus in the family ''Pterulaceae'' and is the type species of the genus ''Myrmecopterula''. It is associated with fungi cultivating ants of the genus ''Apterostigma.'' Taxonomy ''M. mon ...

'' and '' Myrmecopterula velohortorum'' are the only other named species belonging to the genus ''Myrmecopterula.'' These are also associated with cultivation by ''

'' ants. Four other unnamed and poorly documented ''Myrmecopterula'' species are known.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q113026308 Pterulaceae