Species ofHelicocephalumare not reported in the literature often and new taxa are rarely described.Helicocephalumspp. can be confused with helicosporous deuteromycetes (Goos et al., 1986). The best descriptions and illustrations ofHelicocephalumcan be found in Thaxter (1891), Drechsler (1934, 1943), and Barron (1975).Helicocephalum diplosporum(Drechsler, 1943) is unusual because the sporangiophore apex remains straight and only two spores are produced. In the remaining species ofHelicocephalum, H. africanum, H. corniculatum, H. oligosporum, H. sarcophilum(Thaxter, 1891; Drechsler, 1934; Kitz and Embree, 1989; Roux, 1996a) the apex is coiled and (1-)3-20 or more spores are formed.
The best habitat forHelicocephalumspp. would be where members of the Cochlonemataceae (q.v.) and Zoopagaceae (q.v.) also occur. The hosts for species ofHelicocephalumare nematodes and nematode eggs. Barron (2004) described the methods he recommends for collecting fungal parasities of amoebae, nematodes, rotifers and other small animals, and also for cultivating the hosts.
