Zhurbenkoa

Z. cladoniarum Z. epicladonia Z. latispora Zhurbenkoa is a genus of lichenicolous fungi in the family Malmideaceae.

[1] The genus was circumscribed in 2019 by Adam Flakus, Javier Etayo, Sergio Pérez-Ortega, and Pamela Rodriguez-Flakus, with Zhurbenkoa epicladonia assigned as the type species.

The generic name honours Russian lichenologist Mikhail Zhurbenko, "for his magnificent contribution to knowledge on the biodiversity and systematics of lichenicolous fungi, including lichen parasites colonizing Cladonia".

[2] Zhurbenkoa fungi grow on the thalli of species in the widespread lichen genus Cladonia.

They produce grayish-brown to almost black apothecia that lack margins, and have crystals interspersed in the epihymenium.