LABOULBENIALES - Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos

Figure IV: Position of Laboulbeniomycetes among the Fungi, from The Tree of Life Web Project(SPATAFORA, 2007).1.4.2. CLASSIFICATI ON OF THE LABOULBENIALES“The structure of the perithecium and the relatively greater complication inthe general structure of both sexes (of Herpomyces) might be assumed toplace it higher in the scale than either Amorphomyces or Dioicomyces,although the occurrence of a series of forms on Blattidae, which are supposedto be representatives of one of the most ancient types of true insects, mightperhaps have been expected to be correlated with a more primitive type inthe parasite. But although the unisexual forms with simple antheridia might forsome reasons be assumed to be the more primitive, the present genus isdistinguished by a far more complicated structure than the other unisexualforms of the same type, and Amorphomyces still remains… by far the simplestin structure of all the Laboulbeniales.”– Roland Thaxter, 1908The order of the Laboulbeniales presently comprises over 2000 species in 143genera (SANTAMARIA, 1998; KIRK et al., 2001; WEIR & BLACKWELL, 2005; LUMBSCH &HUHNDORF, 2007), and it is expected that this number will increase by futurestudies. THAXTER (1896, 1908) used the different ways of spermatia formation –exogenously, endogenously in simple antheridia, endogenously in compoundantheridia – as main criterion in the classification.P a g e | 17