The genus Neotropicomus was created in 2022 to include two species of Boletacean Mushrooms from South America, the previously described Xerocomus parvogracili (which became Neotropicomus parvogracili) from Guyana, and a new species, Neotropicomus australis, from the Atlantic Forests of Brazil. The name 'Neotropicomus' refers to the Neotropical Realm, the biological zone which incorporates the tropical biomes of South and Central America and the Caribbean islands, to which region the new genus was thought to be restricted.
In a paper published in the journal Cryptogamie Mycologie on 27 March 2024, Salna Nanu and Arun Kumar of the Department of Botany at the University of Calicut, describe a third species of Neotropicomus from Kerala State in India.
The new species is named Neotropicomus indicus, in reference to its unexpected presence in India. It produces small Mushrooms 20-30 mm across, which are convex when young, but flatten out as they age. The upper surfaces of the Mushrooms are reddish brown, fading to greyish towards the centre. The gills and stipe (stem) are white, with the stipe being 20-40 mm long and 3-4 mm wide.
Neotropicomus indicus Mushrooms were found growing solitary in Diptocarp forests in Thiruvananthapuram District. It physically resembles other members of the genus Neotropicomus, and was confirmed as being the sister taxon to the other members of the genus by a genetic analysis.
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