Thermophilic fungi and applied research: a synopsis of name changes and synonymies

The present synopsis reports on taxonomic decisions and name changes introduced in the last decades for a number of thermophilic fungi. Taxa dealt with are those most commonly cited in the literature of fundamental and applied work or concern species having complex taxonomic histories. The definition of a thermophile follows the classificatory scheme elaborated by Cooney & Emerson in 1964. The synopsis provides the latest legal valid names for several thermophiles. Binomials of accepted synonymies are also reported with arguments in favour of these taxonomic decisions. The material of this contribution is a synthetic simplified account of two previous reviews on the taxonomy of thermophilic fungi. The present document aims: (1) to suppress the use of ghost binomials having no status of any kind; (2) to favour the continuous use of the latest legal valid name of a taxon to avoid cases of redundancies by citing binomials of known synonyms. Homogeneity in cited names is a fundamental prerequisite for comparative studies. The synopsis is thus a sound tool for future critical reviews of ecological and of biotechnological interests. The status of over a hundred names are here reviewed. Two additional new synonyms are proposed; these concern Mucor miehei var. minor and Sporotrichum cellulophilum. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.