Mycopsida

Mycopsida is a historical taxonomic term once used to designate a class of true fungi. The concept has no single, universally accepted circumscription; throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries different authors placed diverse taxa within Mycopsida and treated it as a broad or loosely defined grouping.

In some classification schemes, Mycopsida included a wide array of filamentous fungi with septate hyphae and particular reproductive features, while other authors restricted the name to a subset of higher fungi. The lack of consistent diagnostic characters and the rapid changes in fungal classifications during the pre-molecular era led to inconsistent usage and varying membership.

With the rise of molecular systematics and ongoing revisions to fungal taxonomy, Mycopsida ceased to be recognized as a formal taxon in modern classifications. Its constituents were redistributed into more clearly defined lineages, such as the phyla or divisions now known as Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, among others. The term is now regarded as obsolete in current mycological discourse.

Despite its obsolescence, the name reflects historical attempts to impose a higher-level framework on the diversity of fungi. Contemporary taxonomy relies on phylogenetic evidence and widely accepted ranks, moving away from older, variable groupings like Mycopsida.

See also: Fungi, Mycology, Taxonomy, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota.