11
4
1716 Check List the journal of biodiversity data
21 August 2015
Notes oN GeoGraphic DistributioN Check List 11(4): 1716, 21 August 2015 doi:  http://dx.doi.org/10.15560/11.4.1716
ISSN 1809-127X © 2015 Check List and Authors
First record of the myxomycete genus Colloderma in Central 
America
Carlos Rojas1*, Carlos Lado2 and Randall Valverde1
1 Forest Resources Unit, Engineering Research Institute, University of Costa Rica, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, 11501 – Costa Rica
2 Real Jardín Botánico (CSIC), Plaza de Murillo 2, 28014 Madrid – Spain
* Corresponding author. Email: carlos.rojasalvarado@ucr.ac.cr
Abstract: The myxomycete genus Colloderma and the in northern temperate forests of Europe and North 
species Colloderma oculatum are reported for the first America (see Eliasson 1981; Schnittler and Novozhilov 
time in Central America. The species was recorded at 1996; Stephenson 2004). For the Neotropics, few records 
high elevations in the Talamanca Mountain Range exist, and according to Lado and Wrigley de Basanta 
in Costa Rica during 2014 in a location where the (2008), the species has been recorded in Uruguay and 
structure of myxomycete assemblages has been Ecuador. For Uruguay the record is from Paysandú, “sobre 
historically associated with temperate rather than estiércol de liebre (Lepus europaeus L.)” (García-Zorrón, 
tropical communities. Comments on the geographical 1977). For Ecuador there are four records (McHugh 
distribution and ecology of the species are included. 2009) from Ayampe on Chrisophyllum (Sapotaceae) and 
This record has increased the number of Costa Rican a Malvaceae, and from a locality close to Machalilla on 
myxomycetes to 213 according to the most updated Armatocereus (Cactaceae). Recently, McHugh (2009), 
checklist. also cited Colloderma oculatum in several locations from 
Paraguay such as Lake Yapacarai, Boquerón, Guairá, 
Key words: biogeography, Mesoamerica, Amambay and Alto Paraná, always on bark studied using 
myxogastrids, Neotropics, slime molds the moist chamber culture technique.
In spite of such a limited known distribution, it is 
very likely that the geographical extent of the species 
The myxomycete genus Colloderma was described by Gu- may realistically show a broader pattern, which at 
lielma Lister in 1910 (Lister 1910) based on specimens present is masked up by research limitations of 
from Scotland and the original description of Didymium myxomycete research worldwide (see Stephenson et al. 
oculatum C. Lippert, from Austria. Lister (1910) rec- 2009). As such, the present geographical distribution 
ognized that those specimens did not belong into the note constitutes a case in which an increased effort in 
Physaraceae and created the new genus with the com- studying myxomycetes within a particular region has 
bination of the species Colloderma oculatum (Lippert) generated information that was not published yet in 
G. Lister. In her description, Lister emphasized the eye- the scientific literature. In this manner, the objective 
like appearance of the moist and unbroken sporangia, of this work is to officially report the genus Colloderma 
which inspired Lippert to use the term “oculatum” in and the species C. oculatum for the Central American 
order to describe the original specimens. In the third region for the first time, and to enlarge the geographical 
edition of “A monograph of the Mycetozoa” (Lister 1925) distribution of both considerably. The importance of 
the genus Colloderma was included under the new fam- this type of notes on a group, such as the myxomycetes, 
ily Collodermaceae, based on the outer gelatinous layer, relies in the fact that it provides baseline data for future 
but Nannenga-Bremekamp (1967) stated that an outer projects regarding biodiversity monitoring, microbial 
gelatinous wall occurs in other genera of myxomycetes, ecology assessments and ecosystem management.
and by the structure of the capillitium, very close to Dia- This study was carried out during 2014 as part of an 
cheopsis, she included the genus Colloderma in the family academic visit of the second author to the University of 
Stemonitidaceae (“Stemonitaceae”), a decision accepted Costa Rica. In an expedition to the Talamanca Mountain 
today. Range on 30 October 2014, the area of Cerro de la 
About a hundred years after the species was described, Muerte was selected for a field survey of myxomycetes 
most of the records of C. oculatum have been found due to its historical record. In particular, a forest patch 
 Check List  |  www.biotaxa.org/cl 1 Volume 11 | Number 4 | Article 1716 
Rojas et al.  |  Colloderma in Central America
Figure 1. Map of Costa Rica showing the location of the collecting site (OA = Ojo de Agua), the extension of the Tropical Montane Wet Forest and the 
borders of the two national parks surrounding the site. Insets show a detail of the collecting area and the general appearance (A and B) of the Quercus 
forest patch where C. oculatum was found in the northern section of the Talamanca Mountain Range in Costa Rica. Datum used was WGS84.
located on km 77 of the Southern Interamerican Route The specimen of C. oculatum presented herein was 
(Ruta Nacional 2) was selected. This area is located found on a dead branch of Quercus sp., ca. 7 cm in 
between the Tapantí and Los Quetzales National Parks diameter and with a large load of bryophytes and 
(Figure 1). The forests comprised between km 50 and 80 liverworts on it. The collection was made at the end of 
of this route have been surveyed for myxomycetes since the rainy season in Costa Rica and the climate of the area 
1962 (Alexopoulos and Sáenz 1975) and still continued during the previous week was basically clear/sunny with 
to generate important information for the study of an average temperature of 21°C during the morning, 
myxomycete biodiversity (e.g., Leontyev et al. 2014). cloudy/rainy and with a temperature of ca. 15°C during 
One specimen of C. oculatum was collected in the afternoon and clear with a temperature reaching 7°C 
the mentioned patch and brought up to the Forest at night. The forest patch where the collection was made 
Resources Unit of the University of Costa Rica for had a canopy openness close to 40%, and the canopy 
further examination. The fresh collection showed the was dominated by the temperate genus Quercus (Q. 
morphological characteristics of the species according to costaricensis) whereas the Neotropical genus Chusquea 
Lister (1910) and Martin and Alexopoulos (1969). Final sp. was present in the understory, showing the mixture 
identification of the record was carried out by the second of species from North and South America.
author and after curation, the specimen was deposited Description of observed material of Colloderma 
in the Myxogastrid Biorepository of the Engineering oculatum: Sporocarps scattered to forming small groups 
Research Institute under collection number Ro-5395 of two to three fruiting bodies, sessile, globose to 
(see Figure 2). The nomenclature of the species is that of pulvinate, 0.9–1.4 mm in diameter, seating on a broad 
Lado (2005–2015). brownish hypothallus. Peridium double, the outer 
Figure 2. Images of the C. oculatum collection Ro-5395 from Costa Rica. Left, moist collection showing the characteristic eye-like appearance of the 
species in the field. Right, dry collection as seen in the deposited voucher. Scale bar is approximately 1 mm long.
 Check List  |  www.biotaxa.org/cl 2 Volume 11 | Number 4 | Article 1716 
Rojas et al.  |  Colloderma in Central America
layer thick, hyaline, gelatinous when wet and thin, of the genera Lamproderma and Alwisia that can be 
soft-cartilaginous, glossy olive brown when dry, and currently considered endemic to the zone, also showing 
the inner layer membranous and hyaline. Columella the interesting patterns found there.
absent. Capillitium a system of threads coming out of Independently, the specimen of C. oculatum recorded 
the sporocarp base, 1–3 mm thick, lighter colored at the herein was found on a log covered with bryophytes and 
extremes, with darker accretions. Spores blackish in liverworts in a very similar manner as other habitat 
mass, grayish-brown under the microscope, spinulose, descriptions for temperate records of the species (see 
globose to subglobose, 11–13 mm in diameter. Lister 1910; Eliasson 1981; Schnittler and Novozhilov 
Specimen examined: Costa Rica, San José, Dota, Cerro 1996; Stephenson 2004). Such observation may indicate 
de la Muerte, Ojo de Agua, 09.61518° N, 083.81869° W, that this species requires an appreciable film of water on 
ca. 3,000 m above sea level (a.s.l.), 30-X-2014, on a dead the substrates that it forms fruiting bodies on, similarly 
branch of Quercus sp. cover with a load of bryophytes to the lifestyle of both bryophytes and liverworts. Of 
and liverworts, leg. C. Lado, C. Rojas & R. Valverde, course, it is somehow intuitive to think that the latter 
Ro-5395. The characters found in the specimen examined requirement is necessary in a myxomycete species whose 
corresponded very well with those reported in most fresh fruiting bodies have a wet appearance, but the fact 
publications of the species. that an already described microhabitat for the species 
It is not surprising to record a new genus and species was also recorded in our case may be an indication of an 
of myxomycete from Central America given the fact association pattern.
that the study of these organisms in that part of the 
world has not had the history and characteristics of the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
European or North American surveys. However, finding We would like to thank the University of Costa Rica 
C. oculatum in a tropical context and in particular in for support through research codes 731-B4-072 and 731-
the Talamanca Mountain Range in Costa Rica is very B5-062 from Vicerrectoría de Investigación. Fieldwork 
interesting from both a distributional and ecological was funded by research activity 731-B0-986 of the 
points of view. Forest Resources Unit. The work also has been funded 
As mentioned before, this species has been primarily by the Spanish Government grants CGL 2011-22684 and 
recorded in temperate areas and this report is a valuable CGL2014-52584. Finally, we would like to thank Pedro 
contribution to its geographical distribution since it Rojas from the Forest Resources Unit for his support in 
extends the occurrence of the genus and the species to the field. 
Central America. Even though we know of a record from 
Puerto Rico collected by M. Schnittler at approximately LITERATURE CITED
800 m a.s.l. in El Yunque National Forest (University of Alexopoulos, C.J. and J.A. Sáenz. 1975. The myxomycetes of Costa Rica. Mycotaxon 2: 223–271. http://www.ots.ac.cr/bnbt/8098.
Arkansas 2015), the record in the present geographical html 
note provides the necessary evidence to show the Eliasson, U. 1981. Patterns of occurrence of myxomycetes in a spruce 
distribution of the species in the continental section of forest in South Sweden. Ecography 4: 20–31. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-
the Middle Americas. 0587.1981.tb00976.x 
What seems more interesting is that the area of García-Zorrón, N. 1977. Mixomicetos coprófilos del Uruguay. Revista 
de Biología de Uruguay. 5: 47–50.
Cerro de la Muerte in Costa Rica holds a myxomycete Iglesias, A., A.E. Artabe and E.M. Morel. 2011. The evolution of 
assemblage that resembles the myxobiota of temperate Patagonian climate and vegetation from the Mesozoic to the 
areas located thousands of kilometers away. Even present. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 10: 409–422. 
though this area has a clear Nearctic dominant tree doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2011.01657.x 
(Quercus sp.), it also has a large number of tropical Lado, C. 2005-2015. An on line nomenclatural information system 
of Eumycetozoa. Real Jardín Botánico, CSIC. Madrid, Spain. 
plant species of origin in Gondwanaland (i.e., Chusquea, Accessed at http://www.nomen.eumycetozoa.com, 30 April 2015.
Weinmannia, members of Cyperaceae; see Iglesias et Lado, C. and D. Wrigley de Basanta. 2008. A review of Neotropical 
al. 2011). This issue of myxomycete communities from Myxomycetes (1828–2008). Anales del Jardín Botánico de 
Cerro de la Muerte resembling temperate ones has been Madrid 65: 211–254. doi: 10.3989/ajbm.2008.v65.i2.293 
addressed before (see Alexopoulos and Sáenz 1975; Rojas Leontyev, D.V., M. Schnittler, G. Moreno, S.L. Stephenson, D.W. 
Mitchell and C. Rojas. 2014. The genus Alwisia (Myxomycetes) 
and Stephenson 2007) and it shows the potential of the revalidated, with two species new to science. Mycologia 106: 
area for biogeographical analysis and for comparative 936–948. doi: 10.3852/13-314 
studies of the evolutionary dynamics of myxomycetes. Lister, G. 1910. Colloderma, a new genus of Mycetozoa. Journal of 
The latter because even though plant communities Botany, British and Foreign 48: 310–312.
in this area are both from North and South America, Lister, A. 1925. A monograph of the Mycetozoa. 3rd ed. Revised by G. 
Lister. London: British Museum. 518 pp.
myxomycete communities resemble those from only Martin, G.W. and C.J. Alexopoulos. 1969. The Myxomycetes. Iowa 
one area. From Cerro de la Muerte, Moreno et al. (2009) City: University of Iowa Press. 560 pp.
and Leontyev et al. (2014) recently described species McHugh, R. 2005. Moist chamber culture and field collections of 
 Check List  |  www.biotaxa.org/cl 3 Volume 11 | Number 4 | Article 1716 
Rojas et al.  |  Colloderma in Central America
Myxomycetes from Ecuador. Mycotaxon 92: 107–118. http:// southern Appalachian subalpine coniferous forests; pp. 203–212, 
www.mycotaxon.com/vol/abstracts/92/92-107.html in: C.L. Cripps (ed.). Fungi in forest ecosystems: systematics, 
McHugh, R. 2009. Field and moist chamber collections of Paraguay diversity, and ecology. New York: New York Botanical Gardens. 
myxomycetes. Karstenia 48: 49–56. http://karstenia.fi/field-and- Stephenson, S.L., M. Schnittler and Y. Novozhilov. 2009. Myxomycete 
moist-chamber-collections-of-paraguay-myxomycetes diversity and distribution from the fossil record to the present; 
Moreno, G., C. Rojas, S.L. Stephenson and H. Singer. 2009. A new pp. 51–67, in: W. Foissner and D.L. Hawksworth (eds.). Protist 
species of Lamproderma (Myxomycetes) from Costa Rica. diversity and geographical distribution. New York: Springer.
Mycological Progress 8: 215–219. doi: 10.1007/s11557-009-0593-5 University of Arkansas. 2015. Planetary biodiversity inventory 
Nannenga-Bremekamp, N.E. 1967. Notes on Myxomycetes XII. A eumycetozoan databank. Fayeteville, Arkansas. Accessed at 
revision of the Stemonitales. Proceedings of the Koninklijke http://www.gbif.org/occurrence/78567336 7 May 2015.
Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Series C 70: 201–216.
Rojas, C. and S.L. Stephenson. 2007. Distribution and ecology of myxo- Authors’ contribution statement: CR wrote the manuscript, CL 
mycetes in the high-elevation oak forests of Cerro Bellavista, Costa collected and identified the specimen, RV provided illustrations, 
Rica. Mycologia 99: 534–543. doi: 10.3852/mycologia.99.4.534 support in the field and analyzed information.
Schnittler, M. and Y. Novozhilov. 1995. The myxomycetes of boreal 
woodlands in Russian northern Karelia: a preliminary report. Received: 28 May 2015
Karstenia 36: 19–40. Accepted: 9 July 2015
Stephenson, S.L. 2004. Distribution and ecology of myxomycetes in Academic editor: Matias J. Cafaro 
 Check List  |  www.biotaxa.org/cl 4 Volume 11 | Number 4 | Article 1716