Abstract

Species diversity and collection time variation of marine fungi on Nypa fruticans in Samut Songkhram Province, Thailand were investigated. Eighty-one fungal taxa were recorded between October 1997 and August 1999, with 76 new taxon records for Nypa fruticans, and 22 new taxon records (13 pyrenomycetes, 1 discomycete and 8 anamorphic fungi) for Thailand. Percentage occurrence of the nine most prevalent marine taxa ranged from 34.8 to 8.8%. Trichocladium nypae (34.8%), Linocarpon appendiculatum (34.0%), L. nypae (30.8%), Oxydothis nypae (26.8%) and Astrosphaeriella striatispora (26.4%) were the most common fungi. The study of collection time variation revealed the greatest species diversity in the dry months when rainfall ranged between 19 and 11 millimeters. Species richness in the dry and wet months was 38–40 and 29–30, respectively.