First record of Hericium coralloides (Hericiaceae, Basidomycota): A coral tooth mushroom from Sabah (Northern Borneo), Malaysia.

A species of Hericium was collected from Marai Parai, Kota Belud, Sabah, Malaysia. The specimen exhibited characteristic whitish spines arising from a common base and arranged in rows along branched structure, consistent with the diagnostic features of the genus Hericium. Morphological examination revealed subclavate basidia, and smooth amyloid basidiospores. Molecular identification based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region confirmed the specimen as Hericium coralloides, with 99% bootstrap support. This species has previously been reported from India, China, the United Kingdom, Korea, Austria, North America, and South Africa. The present study represents the first confirmed record of H. coralloides in Sabah, Malaysia, thereby extending the known distribution of this coral tooth fungus to Northern Borneo, Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]