Laboulbenia variabilis - New Vouchered Species Record for NY
April 2026 - Now published in Northeastern Naturalist Notes: Laboulbenia variabilis Thaxt. (Fungi: Ascomycota): A New Vouchered Species Record for New York from the Carabid Beetle Oodes amaroides Dejean
This paper was a collaboration between Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian (NY State Musuem), Bob Schmidt (Hudsonia Ltd), and Erik Kiviat (Hudsonia Ltd).
Abstract: We surveyed macrofauna collected from temporary waters in the Hudson Valley, NY, for the presence of Laboulbeniales. A specimen of Oodes amaroides (Coleoptera: Carabidae) hosted Laboulbenia variabilis. This is a new host record and a new vouchered species record for New York.
Introduction. Laboulbeniales are a diverse order of ectobiotic fungi that grow from the integument of arthropods. These minute fungi form multicellular and determinate thalli that are observable with the aid of a dissecting microscope. Like many groups of fungi, Laboulbeniales are understudied and poorly documented. With an estimated 40,000–70,000 extant species, only a small proportion (2500 species) have been described (Haelewaters et al. 2021, al. 2024).