Preservation of a Novel Epifoliar Fossil Callimothalloid Fungus From Siwalik (Miocene) of India: Insight Into the Evolution of Muyocopronaceae in Deep Time

Fossil callimothalloid fungi have long attracted the attention of palaeomycologists because there has been limited research on their vegetative hyphae and asexual reproductive structures. The present study addresses this gap by reporting the in situ discovery of a new fossil species, Neomycoleptodiscus palaeoindicus sp. nov. (similar to modern Neomycoleptodiscus Hern.‐Restr., J. D. P. Bezerra and Crous: Muyocopronaceae) on cuticle fragments of a compressed Bergera J. Koenig leaf recovered from the middle Siwalik (Late Miocene; ca. 12–8 Mya) of Himachal Pradesh, western Himalaya. Additionally, here we report numerous conidiomata of Neomycoleptodiscus pertusus (Dilcher) G. Worobiec on cuticular fragments of Quercus L. recovered from the same fossil locality. The preserved data on the vegetative hyphae and asexual reproductive structures of N . palaeoindicus provide new insights into the systematics, life cycle, and evolutionary lineages of Muyocopronaceae. We also discuss the palaeoecology of the area based on the fossil fungi mentioned above.