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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This photo depicts fruit bodies which have been dehisced for hours or maybe even days. There are relatively few spores still present. Below is a video of a similar species showing "the exact moment" in question (video by instagram.com/yeweijun98)

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

It's certainly IS a word no matter what woogles says, but you might want to unlearn the taxonomic concept

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

This is not a fungus actually! Slime molds are huge unwalled mobile single cells that digest live prey internally. Fungi are immobile, walled, multicellular decomposers. Many are toxic or pathogenic. They are more closely related to animals! Both produce spores, but so do moss, kelp, myxozoa, etc

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I envy you right now. You're about to hear about some of the weirdest freaks on the tree of life for the very first time

Sorogena is a ciliate "slime mold" - when food is scarce, they aggregate into a group that transforms into a multicellular fruit body. Image from Bardele et al, 1991: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1550-7408.1991.tb04785.x

Amoebophrya is a dinozoan that infects other dinozoans. Inside the nucleus of its prey, it transforms into a multicellular worm with cilia lining an internal cavity. Then it bursts out by turning its entire body inside out and swimming away with its cilia, now facing outward. Image from Chen et al 2017: https://doi.org/10.1111/jeu.12489

Haplozoon is a parasite of polychaete worms with whole bunch of cells! Image from "Ultrastructure of tapeworm-like parasites in marine dinoflagellates (Haplozoon)" by Phil Angel, from 2019: https://doi.org/10.14288/1.0380869

Various multicellular Harosans. Image from a highly recommended paper: "Diversity of ‘simple’ multicellular eukaryotes: 45 independent cases and six types of multicellularity," by Łukasz Lamża, from 2023: https://doi.org/10.14288/1.0380869

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Lets ignore prokaryotes for now Animals Fungi Plants Protista Misleading, internally inconsistent Animals Fungi Amoebozoans (slime molds) Plants Harosans (kelp) Discobans (euglenid algae) Each kingdom genetically distinct w/ has unique traits. You may rename, divide, & combine as needed

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Protista isn't a useful category genetically, morphologically, or ecologically. Protists aren't related and they aren't similar. Nearly all eukaryotic life is found on 6 branches, including 100% of the multicellular & macroscopic species, and these branches (or kingdoms) each have unique features

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

During the fruiting process, wolf milk pumps out water through a series of tubes. The water exits the spore mass & evaporates, leaving various oils, crystals, & pigments inside those little bumps. The shape, orientation, & contents of the bumps are specific to each species, & there are more than 50!

Lycogala aggregatum has masses of small oil droplets in its dark irregular overlapping vesicles (aka bumps or pockets) (from Leontyev et al, 2023: https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.2023.2199109)

Lycogala botrydium has large oil droplets in its dark irregular overlapping pockets (Leontyev et al, 2023: from https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.2023.2199109)

Lycogala caviaroides has large irregular crystals inside its distinct polygonal orange pockets (from Leontyev et al, 2023: https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.2023.2199109)

Lycogala epidendrum has no oil or large crystals in its large irregular overlapping pockets. The pockets are accentuated with dried slime, & some have small needle-like crystals inside. H, J, & K are the tubes that pump out the water (from Leontyev et al, 2023: https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.2023.2199109)

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

No apology is necessary, it is a widely repeated misconception. Slime molds are actually quite unlike fungi despite many people's assumptions, & less closely related to fungi than we are. In many ways slime molds are more similar to animals, & in other ways they are an entirely unique kingdom

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

It does look like Stemonitis splendens. But could it be the fungus Inonotus rickii? I've been fooled before (see pic 1 below). The easiest way to tell is to look for thin black stalks at the base (see pic 2). I can't tell for sure, looking at your photos. They are sometimes very tiny & short

Inonotus rickii by kimsr22 (iNaturalist)

Stemonitis by greenmountainparrot (reddit)

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Reticularia lycoperdon is traditionally foraged & eaten in Mexico. The flavor has been compared to mushroom, almond, & Oaxaca cheese

from this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.24966/FSN-1076/100025

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

"Slime mold" is a nebulous term, but in general it refers to amoebas that aggregate into cooperative fruit bodies. The majority are found in their own kingdom, sometimes called Amoebozoa. A handful of slime molds exist outside this branch, but none that are macroscopic or mobile when aggregated

A slightly more precise tree focused on eukaryotes

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

I'm not that knowledgable about fungi but I think its a jelly fungus like Tremella www.gbif.org/occurrence/s... or Protohydnum www.gbif.org/occurrence/s...

Protohydnum photo by onetrekpony (reddit)

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

I'm leaning toward T montana, but it's hard to evaluate how free the tips are when it is this young. The color can change quickly, so it can be difficult to use as an indicator

Tubifera montana (photo by Natalie Clark)

All these photos are of Tubifera ferruginosa (Leontyev, 2015)

a = Tubifera ferruginosa
b = T. ferruginosa (subsp. acutissima)
c = T. montana

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

I think this is a fungus actually. Did you poke it? Also protists do not really exist in the way Fungi, Animals, & Plants do; they are not united by genetics or common features. Slime molds are Amoebozoans, which have no close relation to (for example) euglenid algae (Discoba) or kelp (Harosa).

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

This is not a fungus but a slime mold, & it has little in common with fungi beyond a superficial resemblance. It is a mobile hunter that digests live prey internally & forms acellular fruit bodies unique to its own kingdom. It is the only macroscopic mobile organism outside the animal kingdom

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

It reminds me of "star jelly," but I think it's fungi because it's attached. Slime molds change noticeably over a day & disappear quickly. They are never rigid or rubbery like a fungus; usually either dry & crispy or soft like butter. To exclude, check one 4-8 hours apart & poke it with a stick

Star jelly is slightly mysterious but the evidence suggests jelly from frog eggs, vomited by predators (photo by Lairich Rig)

Jelly fungi like this Pseudohydnum gelatinosum can look like shapeless wet jelly when first emerging

Symphytocarpus amaurochaetoides (photo by Erwin Pils). This IS a slime mold, but it is very small (millimeter scale) & within hours or a day it will transform dramatically (see the next image)

A mature Symphytocarpus amaurochaetoides (photo by Erwin Pils)

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

The fungi look intact so probably the latter. Only a few species eat mushrooms: Physarum polycephalum, P rigidum, & Physarella oblonga are yellow, Badhamia utricularis is usually more orange. Plenty of yellow slime molds don't eat mushrooms so I would be curious to see the fruit bodies

Physarum rigidum by Tal Koch (often yellow or iridescent)

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Beautiful hypothallus. If you go early in the morning you may see it as a plasmodium (the video is from instagram.com/yeweijun98)

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

S longa is quite rare outside tropical areas but I have seen it once in the NE USA. It was not as spectacular as yours & I did not get as good a photo, but it was a very exciting find for me

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Fungi are immobile decomposers who externally digest dead matter & grow multicellular fruit bodies separate from their mycelium Slimes are mobile predators who internally digest live microorganisms & transform their entire body (the plasmodium, an unwalled single cell) into acellular fruit bodies

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Actually slimes are less closely related to fungi than a jellyfish or a whale! They have little in common with fungi beyond a superficial resemblance, & are in their own kingdom as much as the moss & bugs found in the same places. Their acellular fruiting process is unique to the slime kingdom

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

This is Fuligo septica, a slime mold. Surprisingly it has little in common with fungi despite a superficial resemblance: it is a mobile predator that internally digests live prey & forms acellular fruit bodies in a process unique to the slime mold kingdom. A mushroom is genetically closer to a tiger

The tree of life based on molecular data through 2026

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Hello! This fellow is not deflated but intentionally loose and mellow because that's just how Stemonitis longa gets down. He doesn't imprison his spores in a net because everyone should be free, man. He is also the only known stemonitid who eats mushrooms (the others are physarids)

Stemonitis (AKA Stemonaria) longa by N. E. Nannenga-Bremekamp

Capillitium microscopy of Stemonitis longa by Gim Siew Tan

SEM of the Stemonitis longa spore from Rammeloo (1975)

Stemonitis (AKA Stemonaria) longa by Jerry Yap

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

It will transform into little mandarin segments, then it will darken & harden

Lygnidium (AKA Fuligo) muscorum by balawu on iNaturalist

Lygnidium (AKA Fuligo) muscorum by Kazumi Banderas on instagram

Lygnidium (AKA Fuligo) muscorum by Erwin Pils

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

I'm not particularly well informed about fungi but these look like mushroom caps to me. Here are some tubifs I've seen

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Lygnidium muscorum video from omundofungi on instagram

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

There are >1000 species of slime mold & the overwhelming majority do not eat fungi. This one, however, is one of the few that do! Physarum polycephalum, Physarum rigidum, Physarum pezizoideum, Physarella oblonga, Badhamia utricularis, and Stemonaria longa are the only confirmed fungivores I know

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Fungi, Animals, & Plants are evolutionary branches. Slime molds like this are another branch called Amoebozoa. Protozoa (aka "Protista," "Protoctista") aren't a natural grouping: they include unrelated organisms from different branches with radically different genetics, morphologies & ecologies.

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

The only representatives of Kingdom Fungi here are the mushrooms getting eaten by that slime mold from Kingdom Amoebozoa!

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

"Slime mold" is a popular political insult, but not a very fitting one. Slime molds are actually the smartest and safest molds, in many ways smarter and safer than politicians. I definitely would not eat a US senator for example, nor would I expect them to do complex pathfinding calculations for me

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Color can vary during fruiting, but most active plasmodia have a consistent hue. Only a few are red like this, but without fruit bodies they cannot yet be IDd. Most likely is Craterium roseum (FKA Physarum roseum), but P lateritium, P rubiginosum, & Willkommlangea (for example) are also red

Craterium (Physarum) roseum by Gim Siew Tan

Willkommlangea reticulata by Александр Корепанов

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Here is a highly magnified cross section of the stalk of Lamproderma columbinum. This sp. forms in a similar way with a similar slime layer, which is apparently many layers thick after drying. I wonder if S typhina differs in any interesting way

SEM from Yajima 2023: https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.2023.2170146

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

The slime mold was probably not stationary. To be fair, though, they are very slow... which is similar

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

The Amoebozoan on your chip pile, to be more specific! 🙂

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Was the fruit body alone? It may instead be Ophiotheca chrysosperma (FKA Perichaena chrysosperma)

Ophiotheca chrysosperma from Poulain, Meyer, Bozonnet

Ophiotheca chrysosperma by Sarah Lloyd, from Secretive Slime Moulds by Steve Stephenson

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Tufting / clustering generally = Stemonitis, but getting to species is difficult even with micro (S. longa is one of the few identifiable in macro). ID is by net / tip / spore pattern but it can be ambiguous & difficult. Only a few sp are over a cm long: splendens, axifera, fusca, + a few rarer sp

Stemonitis splendens from Poulain, Meyer, Bozonnet 2011

Stemonitis axifera from Poulain, Meyer, Bozonnet 2011

Stemonitis fusca from Poulain, Meyer, Bozonnet 2011

Stemonitis flavogenita from Poulain, Meyer, Bozonnet 2011

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Stemonaria longa completely lacks a net, so I think this cannot be that species

Microscopy of Stemonaria longa by Gim Siew Tan

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Slime molds always remind me of sculptures in a museum

Didymium perforatum by kazumibanderas (instagram)

Lamproderma acanthosporum by Alain Michaud

Cribraria arachnoidea from Gmoshinskiy et al 2025: https://doi.org/10.31111/nsnr/2025.59.2.F1

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

It's a popular comparison but its not a fitting one. Slime molds are nontoxic, non-pathogenic, hypoallergenic, & harmless to plants, animals, & buildings. They are symbiotic with some plants & animals & they eat bacteria. Pigs, while delightful, are significantly more destructive & violent

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

I agree with your ID! The difference between fungi & slime mold is vast; the two share little in common. Slime molds don't consume dead stuff but digest live microbes internally. They are unicellular, mobile, & non-pathogenic. A fungus is more closely related to a tiger than to this slime mold

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regular slime guy @regularslimeguy.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Many slime molds run a bed & breakfast for bugs... the bugs pay by spreading the spores! Slime molds are very cooperative with plants & animals but they have no respect for fungi.

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