Murteelliaceae

Murteelliaceae is a small family of fungi within the Ascomycota, traditionally placed in the Dothideomycetes. The family was circumscribed to accommodate a few genera that share distinctive ascus and fruiting body features, although exact limits have fluctuated with revised phylogenetic analyses. Most recent molecular studies have supported its status as a distinct lineage within a broader clade that includes several other pleosporalean families, but the precise ordinal placement remains unsettled for some taxa, and some classifications treat Murteelliaceae as incertae sedis within Dothideomycetes.

Description and ecology: Members of Murteelliaceae are typically saprobic, living on decaying plant material such as wood and leaves. Fruit bodies are often small and dark, embedded in substrata, with ascomata that can be perithecioid or pseudothecioid. Asci are generally bitunicate, producing routinely 8 ascospores, though spore ornamentation and size vary among genera. The known species have a cosmopolitan distribution, enriched in tropical and subtropical habitats, but records are sparse and knowledge relies on a few collected specimens.

Genera: The family contains a small number of genera; the exact composition varies by taxonomic source and molecular data. Further studies are needed to stabilize its circumscription and determine intergeneric relationships.