Background:

Cordyceps s.l. is a paraphyletic group of Ascomycete fungi that parasitize mainly arthropods. In Mexico, these fungi have been little studied and the current state of their diversity is unknown.

Objective:

To describe the history of the records of Cordyceps s.l. from Mexico, and to generate a checklist of the species, detailing their hosts and geographical distribution.

Methods:

A literature review was conducted addressing on Cordyceps s.l. cited from Mexico from 1864 to 2022. Geographical distribution maps of Clavicipitaceae, Cordycipitaceae, and Ophiocordycipitaceae were created in the QGIS 3.18.1 Software.

Results and conclusions:

The first record of Cordyceps in Mexico dates back to 1864. To date, 35 species of Cordyceps s.l. have been recorded, equivalent to 3.5% of the diversity of the genus recorded worldwide. The geographical distribution of these species is determined by their hosts and consequently by the vegetation. The species with the greatest geographical distribution were: Beauveria bassiana and Cordyceps militaris of Cordycipitaceae; Metarhizium anisopliae of Clavicipitaceae; and Tolypocladium capitatum and T. ophioglossoides of Ophiocordycipitaceae. Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae are the most studied species due to their pathogenicity to different crop pests.

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