Papiliomyces australis sp. nov. (Clavicipitaceae), infecting lepidopteran hepialid larvae in temperate forests of southern Chile.

Papiliomyces is a recently described genus of Cordyceps-like entomopathogens known to date only from Asia and typically associated with soil-dwelling ghost moth larvae (Hepialidae, Lepidoptera). Here we describe Papiliomyces australis sp. nov. from temperate Nothofagus forests in southern Chile, representing the first confirmed report of the genus in the Americas. The fungus was collected from buried hepialid larvae and isolated in culture. Stromata are cream to greyish white with immersed perithecia; asci are cylindrical with a distinct apical cap; ascospores are filiform, multiseptate and do not disarticulate. In culture, the anamorph produces two conidial types (fusiform α-conidia and subglobose β-conidia) from distinct phialides and forms chlamydospores. Phylogenetic analyses of ITS, LSU, SSU and RPB1 place P. australis within a strongly supported Papiliomyces clade as a distinct South American lineage. This finding increases the known distribution of Papiliomyces and shows the under-sampled cordycipitaceous fungi diversity in South American temperate forests.