Gibellula liaoningensis Z.L. Liu, D.P. Wei & T.C. Wen, 2025

Liu, Zhong-Liang, Wei, De-Ping, Chen, Jun-Hua, Wu, Wei-Jie, Liu, Zheng-Hui, Zhang, Wei, Chen, Hui, Peng, Xing-Can, Kang, Ji-Chuan, Qian, Yi-Xin, Huang, Shi-Ke, Zhang, Xian, Xie, Shi-Wen, Bu, Jing, Wijayawardene, Nalin N. & Wen, Ting-Chi, 2025, A new spider-pathogenic species Gibellula liaoningensis (Cordycipitaceae) from Liaoning Province, China, Phytotaxa 702 (1), pp. 48-60 : 53

Gibellula liaoningensis Z.L. Liu, D.P. Wei & T.C. Wen sp. nov. ( Figure 2)

Index Fungorum number: IF 903260

Etymology: Named after Liaoning, the location where the type specimens were collected.

Parasitic to spider attached to the abaxial surface of leaves. Mycelial mat white, entirely covering the spider host. Synnemata 1.9–2.4 mm long, 120–200 µm wide (n = 10), arising from mycelial mat, cespitose, lavender, cylindrical, attenuated toward the apex, consisting of multiseptate, smooth-walled, parallel longitudinal hyphae. Conidiophores 9.1–27.1 × 5.9–9.2 (x = 18.4 × 7.2, n = 30) µm, forming along the entire length of the synnemata, developing from rough hyphae on the outer layer of synnemata, penicillium-like, broadly ellipsoidal to clavate, smooth-walled, aseptate, bearing a cluster of metulae. Metulae 6.9–10.1 × 3.4–6.7 (x = 8.4 × 4.9, n = 30) µm, broadly clavate, terminating in a whorl of phialides. Phialides 6.1–9.8 × 1.6–3.1 (x = 7.9 × 2.5, n = 30) µm monophialidic, narrowly cylindrical, smooth-walled. Conidia 3.4–4.9 × 1.7–2.4 (x = 4.1 × 2.0, n = 30) µm, clavate, aseptate. Sexual morph and Granulomanus synasexual morph not observed.

Material examined: China, Liaoning Province, Tieling City, parasitic on dead spiders ( Araneae ), 14 Aug 2023, Zhong-Liang Liu, H31 (HKAS:145358, holotype), H32 (HKAS:145357, paratype).

Notes: The morphological comparison between Gibellula liaoningensis and six similar species are detailed in Table 2. Gibellula liaoningensis is relatively similar to G. pulchra in possessing numerous synnemata. However, G. liaoningensis produces short to reduced, penicillium-like conidiophores that is stipitate and aspergillus-like in G. pulchra . The other reference species in Table 2 exhibit paired to multiple synnemata with color ranging from white to brownish white, whereas those of G. liaoningensis are numerous and lavender. Therefore, we propose our specimens as a new species of Gibellula based on both morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses.