Morphological Diversity of Ascobolus and Pilobolus Fungi from Wild Herbivore Dung in Nairobi National Park, Kenya

摘要

The present study examined two genera of coprophilous fungi: Ascobolus and Pilobolus with the aim of species description using their morphological diversity. Fresh dung samples from wild herbivores were collected in different parts of Nairobi National Park in Kenya and immediately taken to the laboratory for culture by moist chamber method. Isolates studied were obtained from dung of the following animals: white rhino, zebra, waterbuck, impala, Cape buffalo, giraffe, Thomson’s gazelle, dikdik, hare, grant’s hartebeest, hippopotamus and eland. Five species of Ascobolus were studied namely: Ascobolus amoenus , A. bistisii , A . calesco and A. immersus . A possible novel 4-spored Ascobolus species was observed. Three species of Pilobolus were found: Pilobolus crystallinus var. crystallinus , P. heterosporus and P. pullus . The most abundant species were: Ascobolus immersus and Pilobolus crystallinus var. crystallinus while the highest diversity was observed in waterbuck dung samples with a total of five different species.