A rapid biodiversity assessment of myxomycetes from a primary tropical moist forest of the Amazon basin in Ecuador

Abstract

A rapid biodiversity assessment of myxomycetes from Yasuní National Park in eastern Ecuador revealed a high diversity of these microorganisms, with a total of 86 taxa (81 species and 5 varieties) from 559 collections, being recorded. One new species (Arcyria annulata), characterized by orange, minute, dispersed sporocarps, is described. Badhamia gigantospora and Hemitrichia cf. pseudoleiocarpa are new records for the Neotropics, and 13 species are new records for Ecuador. This is the first comprehensive study of myxomycetes from a primary lowland moist forest of the Amazon basin and serves as a baseline of the myxomycetes from this region of Ecuador. The surprisingly high number of species in a relatively small area confirms the rich myxobiota of this national park, and the abundance of myxomycetes as a regular component of these tropical forests. SEM micrographs are used to illustrate some species, and data on species distribution are also included.