Diversity of the genus Calocybella Vizzini, Consiglio & Setti in Kerala State, India

Calocybella Vizzini, Consiglio & Setti is a lyophylloid genus recently erected, based primarily on molecular phylogeny. Although the genus was originally described from Europe, several of the subsequently described species of Calocybella are from tropical India. Here, we present an account of all Calocybella species known from India including a species new to science, C. dicholamellata K.P.D.Latha, K.N.A.Raj & Manim., sp. nov., based on morphology coupled with molecular phylogenetic analyses. The Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI) analyses based on nrITS sequence dataset unequivocally placed C. dicholamellata, sp. nov., within the genus Calocybella. A comprehensive description, photographs of the basidiocarps in their natural habitat and of the microscopic structures, comparisons with phenetically and phylogenetically related species, and a phylogram to show the placement of the new species are provided. The diagnostic features and photographs of the other species of Calocybella from this region and a table providing a comparison of all known species of Calocybella also are provided.