A new species of Didymium (Myxomycetes) with reticulate spores

Abstract

An undescribed species of myxomycete characterized by distinct banded-reticulate spores and the absence of a capillitium was isolated in moist chamber culture from the litter of white sagebrush (Artemisia lercheana) collected in a steppe community in the Volgograd region of Russia. A description of this new species and scanning electron photographs are presented. Characters distinguishing this species from D. atrichum, D. nullifilum and D. subreticulosporum are outlined. The taxonomic limits of the species are discussed.