IMA Fungus 2(2): 173-175, doi: 10.5598/imafungus.2011.02.02.08
Validation and justification of the phylum name Cryptomycota phyl. nov.
Meredith D. Jones‡, Thomas A. Richards‡, David L. Hawksworth§, David Bass|‡ University of Exeter, School of Biosciences, Exeter§ Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Departamento de Biología Vegetal II, Facultad de Farmacia, Madrid, Spain| Natural History Museum, Department of Zoology, London
© Meredith Jones, Thomas Richards, David Hawksworth, David Bass. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits to copy and distribute the article for non-commercial purposes, provided that the article is not altered or modified and the original author and source are credited. Citation:
Jones MD, Richards TA, Hawksworth DL, Bass D (2011) Validation and justification of the phylum name Cryptomycota phyl. nov. IMA Fungus 2(2): 173-175. https://doi.org/10.5598/imafungus.2011.02.02.08 |  |
Abstract
The recently proposed new phylum name Cryptomycota phyl. nov. is validly published in order to facilitate its use in future discussions ofthe ecology, biology, and phylogenetic relationships ofthe constituent organisms. This name is preferred over the previously tentatively proposed “Rozellida” as new data suggest that the life-style and morphology of Rozella is not representative of the large radiation to which it and other Cryptomycota belong. Furthermore, taxa at higher ranks such as phylum are considered better not based on individual names of included genera, but rather on some special characteristics - in this case the cryptic nature of this group and that they were initially revealed by molecular methods rather than morphological discovery. If the group were later viewed as a member of a different kingdom, the name should be retained to indicate its fungal affinities, as is the practice for other fungal-like protist groups.
Keywords
chitin, chytrid, Fungi, phylogeny, Rozella, Rozellida