One hundred and fifty samples were collected from eleven districts of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra state and screened for the presence of keratinophilic fungi using hair baiting technique for isolation. Seventy-one isolates were recovered and identified. The cultures were identified using macro- and micromorphological features. Their identification was also confirmed by the BLAST search of sequences of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA region against the NCBI/Genbank data and compared with deposited sequences for identification purpose. Thirteen species of eight genera were isolated, namely, Auxarthron conjugatum (2.00%), Chrysosporium indicum (14.00%), Chrysosporium evolceanui (2.66%), Chrysosporium tropicum (4.66%), Chrysosporium zonatum (1.33%), Chrysosporium state of Ctenomyces serratus (3.33%), Gymnascella dankaliensis (1.33%), Gymnascella hyalinospora (0.66%), Gymnoascoideus petalosporus (0.66%), Microsporum gypseum complex (9.33%), Trichophyton mentagrophytes (2.00%), T. terrestre (3.33%), and Uncinocarpus queenslandicus (2.00%). This study indicates that the soils of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra may be significant reservoirs of certain keratinophilic fungi. 1. Introduction Keratinophilic fungi are an ecologically important group of fungi that decompose one of the most abundant and highly stable animal proteins on earth-keratin which they utilize as a nutrient substrate for growth. The distribution of these fungi depends on different factors, one of which, of vital importance, is human and/or animal presence [1]. Some of these fungi are well-known dermatophytes and are known to cause superficial cutaneous infections (dermatophytoses) of keratinized tissues (skin, hair, and nails) of humans and animals. Mycotic infection is reported throughout the world, and it is extremely contagious [2]. The occurrence of dermatophytes in soil was reported for the first time by Vanbreuseghem [3] using the hair bait technique. Since then studies on the isolation of keratinophilic fungi from soil have been investigated throughout the world [4–7]. Vidarbha is the eastern region of Maharashtra state which lies between 17°57′–21°46′N latitude and 75°57′–80°59′E longitude. The temperature of Vidarbha ranges from a minimum of 12–25°C to a maximum of 30–48°C with relative humidity varying from 10–15% to 60–95%. Tropical climate and topology of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra make this region a potentially interesting area to study the distribution of these fungi. We therefore undertook this study and report the results obtained. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Collection and
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