Soil ascomycetes from Spain. XV. New and noteworthy fungi from Gran Canaria Island (Canary Islands archipelago)

Gran Canaria is the third island in surface area and altitude of the Canary Islands archipelago (Spain), located in the Atlantic Ocean. Its geomorphology provides a wide range of ecological niches that, together with its geographical isolation, have given rise to numerous endemic species of animals and plants. Despite extensive studies on their flora and fauna, research on microscopic fungi remains limited. Therefore, to assess the biodiversity of geophilic microscopic fungi of Gran Canaria, 12 samples were collected from the topsoil layer in different sites of Finca de Osorio , in Parque Rural de Doramas , at the North of the island. The samples were processed by direct sprinkling onto glycerol 18 % agar (G18) and ascospore agar (AA), by activation of dormant spores using 5 % acetic acid followed by plating onto potato-carrot extract agar (PCA), and by Toma-Karling-Vanbreuseghem ( ToKaVa ) hair baiting method. Incubation was carried out at 25 °C and 37 °C. The fungi were isolated in pure culture, and the strains were phenotypically characterized and preliminary identified using molecular data by comparing the nucleotide sequences of one or more phylogenetic informative markers using the BLAST search tool. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted when it was necessary. A total of 199 fungal strains were obtained, being assigned to 37 genera and 76 species, including four new genera, 17 new species and three new combinations distributed across the family Chaetomiaceae (12), and the genera Penicillium (2), Spiromastigoides (1), Thermoascus (1) and Westerdykella (1). In conclusion, the volcanic soils of Gran Canaria Island show a high fungal diversity, particularly within the family Chaetomiaceae , highlighting that the Macaronesia is an underexplored geographic region reservoir of micromycetes.