Entomophthoromycota


Entomophthoromycota is a fungus division. In 2007, it was placed at the taxonomic rank of subphylum in the most recent revision of the entire fungus kingdom. In 2012, it was raised to the rank of phylum as "Entomophthoromycota" in a scientific paper by Richard A. Humber 2012. Divided into three classes and six families, it contains over 250 species that are mostly arthropod pathogens or soil- and litter-borne saprobes.

Taxonomy

Circumscribed by mycologist Richard Humber in 2012, it contains species formerly classified in the division Zygomycota. Humber's reorganization divides the division into three classes while retaining the previously defined family structure:
Division Entomophthoromycota Humber 2012
Genera that have an uncertain status or have been excluded from the Entomophthoromycota include Ballocephala, Tarichium, and Zygnemomyces.

Synonyms from "Part 1- Virae, Prokarya, Protists, Fungi".

Description

Species in the Entomophthoromycota generally share several characteristics. Their vegetative cells are coenocytic; sporulation occurs by production of forcibly discharged dispersive or infective conidia; and their zygospores are homothallic.