''Sclerotrema'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Auriculariaceae The Auriculariaceae are a family of fungi in the order Auriculariales. Species within the family were formerly referred to the "heterobasidiomycetes" or "jelly fungi", since many have gelatinous basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that produce spores on ...

. The type and only

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

, ''Sclerotrema griseobrunnea'', produces effused,

corticioid The corticioid fungi are a group of fungi in the Basidiomycota typically having effused, smooth basidiocarps (fruit bodies) that are formed on the undersides of dead tree trunks or branches. They are sometimes colloquially called crust fungi or pa ...

basidiocarps In fungi, a basidiocarp, basidiome, or basidioma () is the sporocarp of a basidiomycete, the multicellular structure on which the spore-producing hymenium is borne. Basidiocarps are characteristic of the hymenomycetes; rusts and smuts do not ...

(fruit bodies) on wood with a smooth surface. The species was originally described from Russia and is also known from Canada.

Taxonomy

The genus was created as a result of molecular research, based on

cladistic Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived char ...

analysis of

DNA sequences A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases signified by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. By convention, sequences are us ...

, which showed that ''Sclerotrema griseobrunnea'', previously referred to the genus ''

Exidiopsis ''Exidiopsis'' is a genus of fungi in the family Auriculariaceae. The genus has a widespread distribution and contains around 30 species. One species, '' Exidiopsis effusa'', is responsible for the formation of hair ice Hair ice, also known a ...

'', formed its own unrelated and distinct clade.

References

{{Reflist, 1, refs= {{cite journal , vauthors=Malysheva V, Spirin V , year=2017 , title=Taxonomy and phylogeny of the Auriculariales (Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota) with stereoid basidiocarps , journal=Fungal Biology , volume=8 , pages=689–715 , doi=10.1016/j.funbio.2017.05.001, hdl=10138/234769 , hdl-access=free {{cite journal , vauthors=Hyde KD et al. , year=2020, title=Fungal diversity notes 1151–1276: taxonomic and phylogenetic contributions on genera and species of fungal taxa , journal=Fungal Diversity , volume=100 , pages=5–277 , doi=10.1007/s13225-020-00439-5, doi-access=free Auriculariales Agaricomycetes genera Taxa described in 2017