Bicornispora exophiala, a new genus and species of the Coryneliales and its black yeast anamorph

Bicornispora, gen. nov. based on B. exophiala sp. nov., is described and tentatively included in the Coryneliales (Ascomycotina). The most noteworthy features of this taxon are its bicornute ascospores, massive unitunicate asci, and non-ostiolate ascomata. An Exophiala anamorph obtained from monoascosporic cultures provides evidence for the occurrence of black-yeast anamorphs in ascomycetes outside of the loculoascomycetes. Relationships of the new genus to other members of Coryneliales and to some members of the bitunicate ascomycetes are discussed.