It contains 2
families; Endogonaceae, with 6
genera and 38 species and Densosporaceae, with one genera and 4 species.[3]
History
The Endogales were originally formed to hold a single family, the Endogonaceae, which comprised 15 species in four genera (Endogone, Peridiospora, Sclerogone, and Youngiomyces). They were transferred to the phylum
Glomeromycota to
Zygomycetes.[5] Then they were placed in
Zygomycotina.[6]
They were placed in the subphylum
Mucoromycotina in 2017 and genus Youngiomyces was synonymized with genus Endogone.[7] They were then placed in the
monotypic class Endogonomycetes.[4]
DensosporaMcGee (4 Species: D. nanospora – D. nuda – D. solicarpa – D. tubiformis)
Note; genus JimwhiteaM. Krings & T.N. Taylor was placed in the Endogonaceae family, but holds only fossils reported from the
Middle Triassic formations. So is placed in Ascomycota genera Incertae sedis.[3]
Life cycle
The
life cycle of the Endogonales is distinguished by their production of small
sporocarps containing many
zygospores, which are eaten by rodents and distributed by their faeces.
They also produce a fetid odour that attracts
mammals and encourages them to eat their fruiting bodies, and so spread their spores.[10]
Food
Like all fungi, they are
heterotrophs with some being described as
saprobes (with weak evidence).[10]
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Endogonales.