
Pilobolus
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Species
GENUS
- KingdomFungi
- PhylumMucoromycota
- ClassMucoromycetes
- OrderMucorales
- FamilyPilobolaceae
via GBIF
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 35
- With media
- 8
- Family
- Pilobolaceae
- Collections
- NCU, NEB, UFPE, MEL, DEWV, CUP
- Recorded in
- United States, Brasil, Australia, Bermuda, Sweden, Norway, France
~3 min read
Encyclopedic overview
3 sectionsContents
- Life cycle
- References
- External links
Pilobolus is a genus of fungi that commonly grows on herbivore dung.
==Life cycle== The life cycle of Pilobolus begins with a black sporangium that has been discharged onto a plant substrate such as grass. A herbivorous animal such as a horse then eats the substrate, unknowingly consuming the sporangium as well. The Pilobolus sporangium survives the passage through the gastrointestinal tract without germinating, and emerges with the excrement. Once outside its host, spores within the sporangium germinate and grow as a mycelium within the excrement, where it is a primary colonizer. Later, the fungus fruits to produce more spores.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Pilobolus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.