Chaetocapnodium zapotae sp. nov. on Manilkara zapota in central Mexico

A new sooty mould, Chaetocapnodium zapotae, was isolated from Manilkara zapota in central Veracruz, Mexico. An analysis of ITS+LSU nuclear rDNA concatenated sequences of our isolate revealed taxonomic identity at the genus level located in the same clade as Chaetocapnodium insulare and Chaetocapnodium placitae. Morphological examination confirmed that the new species differs from C. insulare in the absence of the sexual morph and the absence of setae on the pycnidia. Additional characters distinguishing C. zapotae from C. placitae are its narrower pycnidial size range, wider size ranges for the hyphae and conidia, and the dark brown color of its pycnidia.