Barcoding sequences clearly separate Chroogomphus mediterraneus (Gomphidiaceae, Boletales) from C. rutilus, and allied species

Abstract

Chroogomphus mediterraneus, a species described from the Balearic Islands, is confirmed as belonging to the genus Chroogomphus, instead of the genus Gomphidius, as it appears in taxonomic databases. Chroogomphus mediterraneus shows macroscopic features similar to Chroogomphus fulmineus and C. rutilus, species with which it has been confused in the literature. However, analyses based on comparison of barcoding sequences (internal transcribed spacers of nuclear ribosomal DNA), and a review of the morphological features, support C. mediterraneus as a separate species close to C. albipes, a gasteroid fungus, and C. confusus, a species described from Yunnan, China. Chroogomphus mediterraneus is also reported for the first time in the Iberian Peninsula.