Taxonomic study reveals five new records of coprophilous basidiomycetes in herbivore manure, highlighting tropical fungal biodiversity.
Key Points
Systematically characterize the diversity and taxonomy of dung-inhabiting basidiomycete fungi across selected regions of Sri Lanka.
Collected seven coprophilous basidiomycete specimens associated with elephant dung and horse manure from Colombo, Gampaha, Nuwara Eliya, and Ratnapura districts.
Conducted macro- and micromorphological analyses combined with phylogenetic reconstruction of ITS and nLSU sequence data using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods.
Identified and described five distinct species: Conocybe volvata, Coprinopsis cinerea, Narcissea cordispora, Panaeolus antillarum, and Panaeolus cyanescens.
Established the first documented records of these five coprophilous taxa within Sri Lanka.