MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATION OF FOUR COPRINOID MACROFUNGAL SPECIES, THREE NEW RECORDS OF MACROMYCOTA IN IRAQ

Coprinoid macrofungi (also known, coprinoid mushrooms, inky caps, or ink caps) are saprobes that live on herbivore dung, decaying wood, straw, and other plant debris. Traditionally, these fungi are classified under the genus Coprinus and the family Coprinaceae, but the recent molecular analysis revealed that this genus is polyphyletic and has been subdivided into four genera and two families: Coprinus included in Agaricaceae and Coprinellus, Coprinopsis and Parasola grouped in the new family Psathyrellaceae. However, macrofungi (including coprinoid mushrooms) are still poorly investigated in Iraq. This study described some coprinoid mushrooms (Coprinus comatus , Coprinellus disseminates, Coprinellus flocculosus, and Coprinellus radians) collected from different localities in Salahadin Governorate, Iraq. The description of these species is performed by morphological and molecular methods. The three species, Coprinus comatus , Coprinellus flocculosus, and Coprinellus radians are new to Iraq. Thus the number of coprinoid mushroom species in Iraq has increased to nine species. This study is the second molecular report on macrofungi in Iraq.