NAME Molinaea asterinoides
AGE Maastrichtian.   AGE span: 70.6...65.5 mya
K&J CLASSIFICATION (2000) Ascomycetes, Myrangiales (Meliolaceae) or Microthyriales (Asterinaceae).
FIGURE(S)
FIGURE REFERENCE
SPECIES, AUTHORITY Molinaea asterinoides Doubinger & Pons 1975, p. 151, pl. 2-5.
LOCATION Corrales mine, Boyacá Basin, Colombia.
ORIG DESCRIPTION* Colonies not very crowded to densely crowded, brown-red, generally branching at right angles. Mycelial cells 2-6 µm wide, 7-40 µm long. Lateral margins of hyphae somewhat sinuous(in young colonies) or sinuous (in mature colonies).

Hyphopodia capitate, lateral, at irregular intervals, 4-10 µm wide, 6-15 µm long, mostly unilateral, occasionally alternating, rarely opposite; generally antrorse. Basal cells 4-6 µm wide, 2-8 µm long, cylindrical.

Stigmocysts 4-5 µm wide, 6-10 µm long, entire or lobate, rarely angular. Stigmocysts have pores (1-1.5 µm in diameter). Suction devices are simple spherical inflations of 4 µm diameter.

Mucronate hyphopodia and mycelial setae absent. Perithecia mucronate, occasionally slightly ovoid to spherical, 80-150 x 130-300 µm.

Ascospores dicellate, 8-20 µm wide, 26-35 µm long, with a smooth cell wall, ends rounded, brown.
COMMENTS* The hyphopodia are very numerous near the perithecia and often in relationship with the pubescent bases.

The suction devices are often seen on the inside of the cell wall of the host plant; also, they usually are near a stigmocyst pore. However, no internal mycelial hyphae connecting them with the cutinized external hyphae have been observed so far.

The perithecia are very dark brown. They are somewhat inflated and raised above the thallus, and envelop the ascospores.

The ascospores have a cell wall of 0.5-0.75 µm thick; they are straight, with a marked constriction at the septum; the two cells may be of slightly unequal size.

The mycelium grows on the upper surface of a dicotyledonous leaf, but some hyphae may extend onto the lower surface. The fungus is parasitic, but never penetrates the cuticle near the stomata. Fungi of this type and affinity are adapted to a warm, moist climate.
PUBLICATION REFERENCE Doubinger J, Pons D. 1975. Les champignons épiphylles de la formation Guaduas (Maestrichtien, bassin de Boyecá, Colombie); 95e Congrès national des Société savantes, Reims, 1970. Sciences, v. 3, p. 145-162.
K&J REMARKS There is no illustration of a perithecium; the ascospores illustrated in part occur in a fairly tight cluster.
TYPE
ALL NAMES (Including synonyms) Molinaea asterinoides;
SERIAL NUMBER 951
PUBLIC COMMENTS
 *For source, see Publication Reference.