Slime Moulds


Slime moulds are a diverse group of organsims that are neither plants, animals nor fungi. They spend most of their life as microscopic single-celled amoeboid individuals in leaf litter, soil or decaying wood, and when conditions are right they reproduce and form a larger, spreading structure called a plasmodium, which in turn produces fruiting bodies (Secretive Slime Moulds: Myxomycetes of Australia By Steven L. Stephenson). 

For beginners, here is a “A Key to Common Genera of Slime Moulds” written and illustrated by Peta McDonald, a Melbourne primary school teacher: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/A_Key_to_Common_Genera_of_Slime_Moulds.pdf

A more technical key can be found in “Taxonomic Keys and Plates from The Myxomycetes”, a book by George W. Martin and Constantine J. Alexopoulos: https://www.myxotropic.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/MyxoKeys.pdf

For a photo gallery of slime moulds from around the world check out this one on a Spanish myxomycetes website: https://www.myxotropic.org/galeria/

Further information: 


Slime Moulds

Announcements

5 May 2025

Hello NatureMaprsAs we move into the cooler months and sighting counts begin to wind down our team has been working tirelessly to ensure our platform’s usability and performance. All merch has been po...


Continue reading

Improvements to data import tool (coming soon)

NatureMapr welcomes Edgar McNamara

Platform wide attribute changes

New Feature: Moderator Quick Responses!

Discussion

Teresa wrote:
29 Apr 2025
Fantastic, hope there are a few more myxos

Fuligo septica
28 Apr 2025
Hi @Teresa. 2022 is correct. I'm importing observations I've made on my property that go back to 2021.

Fuligo septica
Teresa wrote:
28 Apr 2025
you recorded this in 2022?

Fuligo septica
Teresa wrote:
28 Mar 2025
No image Roy

Unverified Slime Mould
Teresa wrote:
24 Feb 2025
Thanks Tina

Arcyria denudata
815,844 sightings of 22,231 species from 13,987 members
CCA 3.0 | privacy
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this land and acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.