A genus of fungi that may cause various infections of the skin, hair and nails. It utilizes keratin as a source of nourishment and is therefore localized in its pathogenicity to the skin and its appendages. The perfect state is in the genus Arthroderma. Called also Achorion.
- T. cutaneum — an occasional cause of bovine mastitis.
- T. equinum — causes ringworm in horses.
- T. gallinae — now called Microsporum gallinae; the cause of favus in fowl.
- T. megninii, T. rubrum, T. shoenleinii, T. tonsurans, T. violaceum — anthropophilic species which occasionally infect animals.
- T. mentagrophytes (T. gypseum) — causes ringworm in horses, dogs and many other species. T. var erinacei occasionally causes ringworm in dogs and other species; the reservoir is the European hedgehog.
- T. simii — causes ringworm in monkeys and poultry.
- T. verrucosum — causes ringworm in cattle, sheep and goats.
