Racocetra castanea previously assigned as Scutellospora castanea is recognized by spores with the germination shield hyaline to subhyaline seldom light yellow, generally oval to ellipsoid or subglobose, with several (4–12) wave-like lobed projections forming the outer surface of the shield (Oehl et al., 2008).

In Brazil here is few information about this taxon yet, then we suggest this species to be categorized as insufficient data (DD).

The species is known in 4 countries. The valid species and its synonym have different occurrence data, Racocetra castanea with 2 occurrences and Scutellospora castanea with 13 occurrences (GBIF).

There are about 15 records in 3 countries (GBIF).

In Brazil, the species is found in Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Caatinga and Cerrado.

This species is found in the Atlantic Forest, a hotspot, in the Amazonia and Cerrado (also a hotspot). Also, Caatinga is threatened with desertification.

Most records are in area with native vegetation of Brazil. The isolation of this fungus in controlled condition represents an advance for the conservation of this species.

Other areas should be studied in order to assess the distribution of this species.

None.

Oehl F, de Souza FA, Sieverding E. 2008. Revision of Scutellospora and description of five new genera and three new families in the arbuscular mycorrhiza-forming Glomeromycetes. Mycotaxon 106:311–360.
Jobim, K., Vista, X. M., & Goto, B. T. 2018. Updates on the knowledge of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (Glomeromycotina) in the Atlantic Forest biome–an example of very high species richness in the Brazilian landscape. Mycotaxon, 133(1), 209-209.
Cofré, M. N., Soteras, F., del Rosario Iglesias, M., Velázquez, S., Abarca, C., Risio, L., ... & Lugo, M. A. 2019. Biodiversity of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in South America: A Review. In Mycorrhizal Fungi in South America (pp. 49-72). Springer, Cham.