| Cryptococcus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Yeast state of Cryptococcus neoformans | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Basidiomycota |
| Class: | Tremellomycetes |
| Order: | Tremellales |
| Family: | Cryptococcaceae |
| Genus: | Cryptococcus Vuill. (1901) |
| Type species | |
| Cryptococcus neoformans | |
| Species | |
|
Cryptococcus amylolentus | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Filobasidiella Kwon-Chung (1975) Tsuchiyaea Y. Yamada, H. Kawas., Itoh, I. Banno & Nakase (1988) | |
Cryptococcus is a genus of fungi in the family Cryptococcaceae that includes both yeasts and filamentous species. The filamentous, sexual forms or teleomorphs were formerly classified in the genus Filobasidiella, while Cryptococcus was reserved for the yeasts. Most yeast species formerly referred to Cryptococcus have now been placed in different genera. The name Cryptococcus comes from the Greek for "hidden sphere" (literally "hidden berry"). Some Cryptococcus species cause a disease called cryptococcosis.