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Hi all,

I am a postdoctoral fellow at Ghent University, Belgium. I study Laboulbeniales fungi, which are ectoparasites of arthropods. Most Laboulbeniales are found on beetles (80%), followed by flies (10%). On flies, representatives of several genera have been reported: Arthrorhynchus, Dimeromyces, Gloeandromyces, Nycteromyces (only on bat flies); Appendiculina, Fanniomyces, Laboulbenia, and Stigmatomyces. Of those genera, Stigmatomyces is the largest with as many as 171 described species.

The type species of Stigmatomyces is S. baeri, which is found on Musca spp. (Muscidae). Unfortunately, no sequences are available for S. baeri and so we do not know for sure where it belongs, that is, to which genus. Stigmatomyces is heterogeneous and it is possible that multiple genera are "hidden" within this name. Only recently, Appendiculina was reinstated based on molecular phylogenetic evidence. Appendiculina now includes species that had long been accepted in Stigmatomyces. Knowing where the type species belongs is important for future studies in taxonomy and systematics!

In short, I am looking for specimens of Musca spp. with fruitbodies of Stigmatomyces (sensu lato). Please let me know when you find infected specimens that can be used for molecular work! In return, I will be more than happy to include you in the resulting paper, either in the acknowledgements or - if interested - as a coauthor.

Pictures of flies infected with Laboulbeniales can be found in the following links:
- https://www.dipte...d_id=46241
- https://photograp...?t=1114400
- Rossi et al. (2013) Notes on the Laboulbeniales (Ascomycota) parasitic on Diptera from Portugal and other countries. Figure 4. [Attachment]
- https://www.dipte...d_id=52347
- https://diptera.i...;pid=69294

In Haelewaters et al. (2020), we reinstated the genera Appendiculina and Fanniomyces within Stigmatomyces sensu lato. This paper can be found here, for those who would like to read more details: http://www.dannyh...FUSE-6.pdf.

Thank you for reading through! Please let me know if you have any questions.
Danny Haelewaters