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We report several cases of fungal infections in snakes associated with a new species within the genus Paranannizziopsis. Three juvenile Wagler's vipers (Tropidolaemus wagleri) presented with skin abnormalities or ulcerative dermatitis, and two snakes died. Histologic examination of skin from the living viper revealed hyperplastic, hyperkeratotic, and crusting epidermitis with intralesional fungal elements. The terrestrial Wagler's vipers were housed in a room with fully aquatic tentacled snakes (Erpeton tentaculatum), among which there had been a history of intermittent skin lesions. Approximately 2 months after the biopsy of the viper, a skin sample was collected from one tentacled snake (TS1) with skin abnormalities and revealed a fungal infection with a similar histologic appearance. Fungal isolates were obtained via culture from the Wagler's viper and TS1 and revealed a novel species, Paranannizziopsis tardicrescens, based on phenotypic characterization and molecular analysis. P. tardicrescens was cultured and identified by DNA sequence analysis 8 months later from a dead tentacled snake in an exhibit in an adjacent hallway and 13 months later from a living rhinoceros snake (Rhynchophis boulengeri) with two focal skin lesions. Antifungal susceptibility testing on three of four cultured isolates demonstrated potent in vitro activity for terbinafine and voriconazole., (© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology.)

The new species Spiromastigoides albida (Onygenales, Eurotiomycetes, Ascomycota), from a lung biopsy in USA, is proposed and described based on morphological data and the analysis of rRNA, and fragments of actin and ß-tubulin gene sequences. This species is characterized by white colonies and a malbranchea-like asexual morph with profusely branching curved conidiophores forming sporodochia-like structures. Moreover, new combinations for Gymnoascus alatosporus, and for some new species recently described under the generic name Spiromastix, are provided.

From stratum corneum samples of a palmar eczema, a fungus was isolated that developed white colonies with a yellowish dark reverse, suggestive of dermatophytes. The isolate produced numerous chlamydospores and sparse aleuroconidia, was resistant to cycloheximide, grew well on human stratum corneum samples and was positive in tests for urease production and hair perforation, but no dermatophyte could be identified. After several weeks, cleistothecia with delicate asci and disc-shaped ascospores were formed, suggesting Arachnomyces spp. The analyses of the ribosomal ITS and LSU (D1/D2 domains) nucleotide sequences proved a good match with the ex-type strain of Xanthothecium peruvianum (family Onygenaceae, order Onygenales), and LSU sequence showed 99% similarity with Arachnomyces glareosus. This is the first report of X. peruvianum isolated from human skin. The description of our isolate provides new information about this species and proposes its transfer to the genus Arachnomyces with the subsequent emendation of the description of Arachnomyces peruvianus. Morphologically and physiologically it mimics dermatophytes and other species of the genus Arachnomyces. Although the clinical situation did not suggest any relevance for A. peruvianus as a primary pathogen, this fungus may act as a secondary pathogen under suitable conditions due to its keratinolytic capacity., (© 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.)

Two interesting fungi were isolated from fluvial sediments collected in the North of Spain. They were morphologically related to the thermally dimorphic fungi of the family Ajellomycetaceae, but the analysis of the internal transcribed spacer region of the rDNA, and the domains D1 and D2 of the 28S rRNA gene sequences confirmed that they were different from all the species described in that family. They were accommodated in the new genus Emmonsiellopsis as E. coralliformis sp. nov. and E. terrestris sp. nov. The two species are distinguished mainly by the maximum temper-ature of growth (up to 33 °C for E. coralliformis and to 42 °C for E. terrestris), the dendritic mycelium of E. coralliformis and the conidial ornamentation (verrucose in E. coralliformis and spinulose in E. terrestris). In addition, the phylogenetic data demonstrated that Ajellomyces griseus also represents a new genus within the Ajellomycetaceae, namely Helicocarpus. This new genus is easily distinguished by the lack of asexual morph, the production of brownish gymnothecial ascomata and oblate to lenticular, sparingly pitted ascospores. The proposal of both new genera was confirmed by the analysis of actin gene sequences., (© 2015 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.)