''Nidula shingbaensis'' is a rare species of

bird's nest fungus The Nidulariaceae ('nidulus' - small nest) are a family (biology), family of fungi in the order Agaricales. Commonly known as the bird's nest fungi, their fruiting body, fruiting bodies resemble tiny egg-filled birds' nests. As they are saprobic ...

in the family

Agaricaceae The Agaricaceae are a family of basidiomycete fungi and include the genus ''Agaricus'', as well as basidiomycetes previously classified in the families Tulostomataceae, Lepiotaceae, and Lycoperdaceae. Taxonomy The family Agaricaceae was publishe ...

. Found in the north district of

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

(India), where it grows on small fallen twigs of Bhutan fir (''

Abies densa ''Abies densa'', the Bhutan fir, is a conifer species in the family Pinaceae. It is sometimes included in the East Himalayan fir (''A. spectabilis'') as a variety. Found in Bhutan, China, India, and Nepal, it is not considered a threatened spe ...

''), it was described as new to science in 2013. It has a

peridium The peridium is the protective layer that encloses a mass of spores in fungi. This outer covering is a distinctive feature of gasteroid fungi. Description Depending on the species, the peridium may vary from being paper-thin to thick and rubber ...

measuring 6–9 mm tall with a mouth diameter of 5–7 mm. The peridium contains up to 40 small "eggs" (peridioles) measuring 0.9–1.3 mm in diameter. The peridioles are filled with broadly

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that may be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a surface that may be defined as the ...

to elongated spores that are 6.9–8.3–9.8 by 4.9–5.4–6.1 μm. Measuring 650–720 μm thick, the peridium comprises six distinct tissue layers—a feature that is unique in the genus ''

Nidula ''Nidula'' is a genus of fungi in the family Agaricaceae. Their fruit bodies resemble tiny egg-filled birds' nests, from which they derive their common name "bird's nest fungi". Originally described in 1902, the genus differs from the related gen ...

''.

References

External links

* Agaricaceae Fungi described in 2013 Fungi of India {{Agaricaceae-stub