Penicillium?

[Chris Johnson]

This was ‘generously’ given to me by someone working on beached cetaceans. It was growing on ambergris, removed from a Cuvier’s beaked whale’ skeleton. It had quite a depth of mould when I received it. I know longer have it, by the way, as it stank!

Conidia: 5.3-8.9 x 3.6-5.6 µm

The final image in Cotton Blue is basal hyphae.

[Chris Yeates]

Hi Chris

I would say definitely not Penicillium or similar as there are no penicillate structures and conidiogenesis is not terminal. One for ASCOFrance methinks – Walter Gams might be able to comment. Make sure you put “whale” into the thread title – that should attract attention!

I did a flick through the plates in Seifert et al.’s Hyphomycetes tome, but couldn’t make any progress. Strangely one which did make me pause was Margarinomyces bubakii now, I think, synonymised with Phialophora. As the generic name implies it was originally reported on margarine 😆 – a foodstuff which once made use of whale oil . . . . But I don’t think it’s that.

Sorry, not much help

Chris

[Chris Johnson]

Chris Yeates wrote:

Hi Chris

Sorry, not much help

Chris

… but always erudite and often amusing …. I should have time to post on AscoFrance tomorrow.

The lady in question does a tremendous amount of work on washed-up corpses of cetaceans so when she mentioned this ‘growth’ on ambergris, I was quite excited. Then I was presented with this margarine (an irony there) tub full of stinking ambergris covered in a duvet of mould … friendship only goes so far.

Chris

[adampembs]

If you get anywhere on Ascofrance, please link to the post, as this is interesting.

[Chris Johnson]

The only reply was a suggestion that in maybe a Scopulariopsis sp.

I did check it out but it doesn’t look quite right.

Chris

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