Ophiocordyceps guishanensis Z. Q. Wang & Y. B. Wang 2026, sp. nov.

Ophiocordyceps guishanensis Z. Q. Wang & Y. B. Wang sp. nov. Fig. 3 Etymology. Named after the name Guishan National Forest Park, where the species was discovered. Type. China • Yunnan Province, Kunming City, Shilin County, the Guishan National Forest Park. 24°64' N, 103°60'E, alt. 2284 m, on a larva of Elateridae buried in soil. 19 Jul. 2025, Zhiqin Wang (HKAS 126111, holotype). Diagnosis. Similar to Ophiocordyceps acicularis, but differs from it by producing smaller asci. Description. Sexual morph: Stromata arising from the head of coleopteren larva buried in soil, solitary, unbranched, cylindrical, flexible, leathery, 5.6–8.7 cm long, 0.3–0.5 mm wide, yellowish-brown to black-brown, colouration from a darker base to a lighter apex, tapering gradually toward the apex. Fertile parts cylindrical, yellowish-brown, 1.9–3.5 cm long, distributed intermittently and irregularly over the upper portion of the stromata, with a sterile apex of 3.5–5.1 mm. Perithecia superficial, black-brown to black, loosely aggregated and arranged in a disordered, vertical orientation, oval to oblong, 250–584 × 173–542 µm. Asci 8 - spored, filiform, hyaline, 86–145 × 2.1–6.1 µm, with a hemispheric apical cap of 1.6–6.1 × 1.8–5.9 µm. Ascospores not observed. Asexual morph: Undetermined. Habitat. Parasitic on larvae of Elateridae (Coleoptera) buried in soil. Distribution. China, Yunnan Province, Kunming City, Shilin County, the Guishan National Forest Park. Other material examined. China • Yunnan Province, Shilin County, the Guishan National Forest Park. 24°64'N, 103°60'E, alt. 2284 m, on a larva of Elateridae buried in soil. 19 Jul. 2025, Zhiqin Wang (HKAS 126112, paratype). Commentary. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that two samples of O. guishanensis were grouped together and formed a distinct clade within the Hirsutella clade of Ophiocordyceps, showing close relationship to O. acicularis and O. liaoningensis (Fig. 1). All three species are parasites of the larvae of Elateridae. Morphologically, Ophiocordyceps guishanensis produces smaller asci (86–145 × 2.1–6.1 µm) compared to O. acicularis (260–290 × 7–10 µm) and O. liaoningensis (205–255 × 7–11 µm) (Table 2).