Resinicium, belonging to Hymenochaetales, Agaricomycetes, is a worldwide genus of corticioid wood-inhabiting fungi. To improve the knowledge of species diversity within the Hymenochaetales, two dozen specimens from Asia-Pacific preliminarily identified to be members of Resinicium sensu lato were carefully studied from morphological and phylogenetic perspectives. From these specimens, a new monotypic genus Skvortzoviella, and five new species, viz. Resinicium austroasianum, R. lateastrocystidium, Skvortzovia dabieshanensis, S. qilianensis and Skvortzoviella lenis are described; moreover, a new basal lineage of Resinicium represented by a Vietnam specimen and three Chinese specimens of S. pinicola are identified. The six newly proposed taxa are morphologically compared with related genera and species, while the family positions of Resinicium, Skvortzovia, and Skvortzoviella within the Hymenochaetales are still ambiguous. In addition, the ancestral geographic origin of Resinicium, even though inconclusive, is now thought to be Asia-Pacific instead of tropical America as previously assumed.

A new species of Xenodermid snake, Achalinus dabieshanensis sp. nov., was described based on three specimens (two female and one male) collected from the Dabie Mountains of western Anhui Province. It can be distinguished from known congeners by a significant genetic divergence in the mitochondrial gene fragment COI (p-distance ≥ 9.4%) and the following combination of characteristics: (1) length of the suture between the internasals being distinctly shorter than between the prefrontals; (2) a single loreal; (3) dorsal scales strongly keeled, in 23 rows throughout the body; (4) two pairs of prefrontals; (5) six supralabials; (6) five infralabials; (7) temporals 2 + 2 + 3 (or 2 + 2 + 4); (8) 141–155 ventrals; (9) 45–55 subcaudals, unpaired; (10) anal entire; (11) weakly iridescent tinged, uniform, brown to black dorsum with vertebral scales and about three adjacent dorsal scales dark brown forming a longitudinal vertebral line from posterior margin of parietals to tail tip; (12) light brown venter, ventral shields wide, visible on both sides, light brown flanks, giving the appearance of a black subcaudal streak. The recognition of the new species increases the number of described Achalinus species to 22.

“Sanghuang” refers to a group of important traditionally-used medicinal mushrooms belonging to the genus Sanghuangporus. In practice, species of Sanghuangporus referred to in medicinal studies and industry are now differentiated mainly by a BLAST search of GenBank with the ITS barcoding region as a query. However, inappropriately labeled ITS sequences of “Sanghuang” in GenBank restrict accurate species identification and, to some extent, the utilization of these species as medicinal resources. We examined all available 271 ITS sequences related to “Sanghuang” in GenBank including 31 newly submitted sequences from this study. Of these sequences, more than half were mislabeled so we have now corrected the corresponding species names. The mislabeled sequences mainly came from strains utilized by non-taxonomists. Based on the analyses of ITS sequences submitted by taxonomists as well as morphological characters, we separate the newly described Sanghuangporus subbaumii from S. baumii and treat S. toxicodendri as a later synonym of S. quercicola. Fourteen species of Sanghuangporus are accepted, with intraspecific distances up to 1.30% (except in S. vaninii, S. weirianus and S. zonatus) and interspecific distances above 1.30% (except between S. alpinus and S. lonicerinus, and S. baumii and S. subbaumii). To stabilize the concept of these 14 species of Sanghuangporus, their taxonomic information and reliable ITS reference sequences are provided. Moreover, ten potential diagnostic sequences are provided for Hyperbranched Rolling Circle Amplification to rapidly confirm three common commercial species, viz. S. baumii, S. sanghuang, and S. vaninii. Our results provide a practical method for ITS barcoding-based species identification of Sanghuangporus and will promote medicinal studies and commercial development from taxonomically correct material.

The fungi constitute a highly diverse group distinct from plants and animals, and accurately determining the taxonomic placement of newly discovered taxa is essential for understanding fungal evolution and ecological function. In this study, a new species, Hymenochaete yaoshanensis, is proposed based on a combination of morphological features and molecular evidence of ITS and nLSU. The phylogenetic analysis inferred from ITS+nLSU sequence data placed H. yaoshanensis within the family Hymenochaetaceae and showed it to be closely related to H. pinnatifida and H. longispora. Hymenochaete yaoshanensis is characterized by a tuberculate to locally verruculose hymenial surface, a monomitic hyphal system, slightly thick-walled generative hyphae with simple septa, and oblong ellipsoid basidiospores (4–6 × 2–3 µm). A full description, illustrations, and phylogenetic analysis are provided to facilitate future taxonomic and systematic studies of Hymenochaete taxa.

Using multiple lines of evidence, namely, morphological features and molecular evidence, we propose a new wood-inhabiting fungus, Podoscypha ahuensis. The species is characterized by its smooth, salmon to flesh pink or buff yellowish pileal surface, distinct swollen gloeocystidia, and the presence of pilocystidia and caulocystidia. Additionally, its basidiospores are ellipsoid and thin-walled (4.2–6.5 × 3–4.5 μm). We discovered this fungus on angiosperms in subtropical China. Sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the large subunit of nuclear ribosomal RNA (nLSU) gene regions of the studied samples were generated, and phylogenetic analyses were performed using the maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony, and Bayesian inference methods. Phylogenetic analyses based on the molecular data of ITS + nLSU sequences showed that P. ahuensis belonged to the Podoscypha, which, in turn, belongs to the family podoscyphaceae and is nested in the resudial clade. Further investigation was performed on more representative taxa in the Podoscypha based on ITS + nLSU sequences, the results of which demonstrated that the species P. ahuensis formed a monophyletic lineage with a strong support [99% BS, 1.00 BPP, 97% BP] and then grouped with P. brasiliensis and P. tropica.

In this study, Candelabrochaete tenuis is described and illustrated as a novel species based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions and the large subunit (nLSU) of nuclear ribosomal RNA genes. The species is characterized by smooth, membranaceous basidiomata with a cream to slightly brown hymenial surface, and allantoid to subcylindrical basidiospores. The phylogenetic analyses based on ITS+nLSU sequences inferred that the new species is nested within the genus Candelabrochaete and is closely related to C. guangdongensis. A description, illustrations, phylogenetic analysis results and comparisons with closely related taxa of the new species are provided.