Assessment Notes

Justification

Castellanea pakaraimophila is an ectomychorrizal species known from only one site in South America. Without targeted search efforts and research into its host and habitat preference it is not possible to determine the conservation status of this species, so it is assessed as Data Deficient (DD).

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Taxonomic notes

Castellanea pakaraimophila is the type and, so far, only species in the Castellanea genus, established in 2015 based on the morphological and molecular data (Smith et al. 2015).

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Geographic range

This species has been recorded from a single location in the Upper Mazaruni River Basin of Guyana, in South America. Pakaraimaea dipterocarpacea, its only known host, is only found in Guyana and Venezuela (POWO 2023) which may limit the distribution of Castellanea pakaraimophila.

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Population and Trends

Castellanea pakaraimophila is so far only known from one site in Guyana. The number of records for this species is likely limited by its inconspicuous and hypogeous fruitbodies, and further research is needed to estimate its population size.

Population Trend: Unknown

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Habitat and Ecology

Castellanea pakaraimophila is a hypogeous to partially emergent, ectomycorrhizal species. Its only known host is the shrub Pakaraimaea dipterocarpacea, confirmed based on a DNA analysis of ectomycorrhizal roots. It is found as solitary growths or in small groups in a closed canopy tropical wet rainforest, dominated by ectomycorrhizal trees (Smith et al. 2015).

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Threats

Without further records and research into habitat preferences it is difficult to evaluate threats. The only known host, Pakaraimaea dipterocarpacea, is limited to Venezuela and Guyana (POWO 2023). If confirmed as the only host, this could limit the distribution of Castellanea pakaraimophila.

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Conservation Actions

Targeted search efforts and research into host and habitat preferences are needed to establish its full distribution, population size and potential threats.

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Source and Citation

Cunha, S.P. & Gonçalves, S.C. 2025. Castellanea pakaraimophila. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T266001187A266020360. Accessed on 20 November 2025.

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• Country occurrence