The type genus of the Inocybaceae,
Inocybe, was originally described by
Fries in 1821, as a 'tribe' within a broad mushroom genus,
Agaricus. Despite this, Dutch taxonomist Walter Jülich placed the genus in its own family, the Inocybaceae. Later, the Cortinariaceae were shown to be
polyphyletic. Additionally,
phylogenetic analyses of
RPB1,
RPB2 and nLSU-
rDNA regions from a variety of
Inocybe and related taxa would support Jülich's recognition of
Inocybe at the family level. In their
Dictionary of the Fungi, Kirk
et al. (2008) did not distinguish between Inocybaceae and
Crepidotaceae, but rather merged them into one family they called Inocybaceae. The literature has since then split up the classification given by Kirk
et al. (2008) and
Chromocyphellaceae. Inocybaceae has only become an independent family somewhat recently. The family is now split into 7 different clades, all recognized with generic rank:
Auritella,
Inocybe sensu stricto,
Inosperma,
Mallocybe,
Nothocybe,
Pseudosperma, and
Tubariomyces. It is estimated that
Inocybe (the largest genus within Inocybaceae) contains ca. 1050 species;
Pseudosperma with ca. 70 species;
Mallocybe with more than 55 species;
Inosperma containing 70+ known species; and
Auritella,
Nothocybe, and
Tubariomyces containing an unknown number of species, but estimated to be in rather small numbers.),
Tubariomyces, and
Inosperma (previously
Inocybe subgenus
Inosperma). ==Distribution==