Stemonitis Explained
Stemonitis is a distinctive genus of slime moulds found throughout the world (except Antarctica). They are characterised by the tall brown sporangia, supported on slender stalks, which grow in clusters on rotting wood.[1] The genus was first described by German botanist Johann Gottlieb Gleditsch in 1753. A 2014 estimate suggests that there are 18 species in the genus. Identification within the genus is difficult, and can only be performed with confidence using a microscope or by DNA sequencing. A fossil specimen (in Burmese amber) is known from the mid-Cretaceous (99 ma).[2]
Species
The following species are accepted by Species Fungorum:[3]
- Stemonitis axifera (Bull.) T.Macbr. (1889)
- Stemonitis farrensis T. N. Lakh. & Mukerji (1977)
- Stemonitis ferruginea Ehrenb. (1818)
- Stemonitis flavogenita E. Jahn (1904)
- Stemonitis foliicola Ing (1967)
- Stemonitis fusca Roth (1787)
- Stemonitis graciliformis Nann.-Bremek., Mukerji & Pasricha (1984)
- Stemonitis herbatica Peck (1874)
- Stemonitis inconspicua Nann.-Bremek. (1966)
- Stemonitis laxifila Nann.-Bremek. & Y. Yamam. (1988)
- Stemonitis lignicola Nann.-Bremek. (1973)
- Stemonitis marjana Y. Yamam. (2000)
- Stemonitis mediterraneensis H.H. Doğan & Eroğlu (2014)
- Stemonitis mussooriensis G. W. Martin, K. S. Thind & Sohi (1957)
- Stemonitis nigrescens Rex (1891)
- Stemonitis pallida Wingate (1899)
- Stemonitis rhizoideipes Nann.-Bremek., R. Sharma & K. S. Thind (1984)
- Stemonitis smithii T.Macbr. (1893)
- Stemonitis splendens Rostaf. (1875)
- Stemonitis virginiensis Rex (1891)
Notes and References
- Web site: Stemonitis sp. . 2008 . Gary Emberger . April 13, 2012 . Messiah College.
- Rikkinen. Jouko. Grimaldi. David A.. Schmidt. Alexander R.. December 2019. Morphological stasis in the first myxomycete from the Mesozoic, and the likely role of cryptobiosis. Scientific Reports. 9. 1. 19730. 10.1038/s41598-019-55622-9. 31874965. 6930221. 2019NatSR...919730R. 2045-2322. free.
- Web site: Stemonitis . . . April 12, 2012.
