The Ascobolaceae are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

fungi A fungus (plural, : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of Eukaryote, eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and Mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified ...

in the order

Pezizales The Pezizales are an order of the subphylum Pezizomycotina within the phylum Ascomycota. The order contains 16 families, 199 genera, and 1683 species. It contains a number of species of economic importance, such as morels, the black and white ...

. A 2008 estimate places 6

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...

and 129 species in the family.

Description

Most

fruiting bodies The sporocarp (also known as fruiting body, fruit body or fruitbody) of fungi is a multicellular structure on which spore-producing structures, such as basidia or asci, are borne. The fruitbody is part of the sexual phase of a fungal life cycl ...

of the disk-like ascobolaceae examined, are round and without

conidium A conidium ( ; ), sometimes termed an asexual chlamydospore or chlamydoconidium (), is an asexual, non- motile spore of a fungus. The word ''conidium'' comes from the Ancient Greek word for dust, ('). They are also called mitospores due t ...

. All members of this family of fungi have a

saprobiontic Saprobionts are organisms that digest their food externally and then absorb the products. This process is called saprotrophic nutrition. Fungi are examples of saprobiontic organisms, which are a type of decomposer. Saprobiontic organisms feed off ...

lifestyle, feeding on decaying and dead matter.

Taxonomy

* Ascobolaceae with 4 different

** '' Ascobolus'' ** '' Cubonia'' ** '' Saccobolus'' ** '' Thecotheus''

Examples

''Ascobolus michaudii'' and ''Ascobolus albidus'' live as decomposers on the

feces Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a rela ...

of large

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthp ...

and

omnivore An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

mammals and depend on their survival, due to the specialized habitat they inhabit. File:Ascobolus albidus 116263897.jpg, Weißlicher Kotling ''Ascobolus albidus'',

Northern Velebit National Park The Northern Velebit National Park ( hr, Nacionalni park Sjeverni Velebit) is a national park in Croatia that covers 109 km2 of the northern section of the Velebit mountains, the largest mountain range in Croatia. Because of the abundant var ...

File:2015-05-27 Ascobolus scatigenus (Berk) Brumm 523193.jpg, ''Ascobolus scatigenus'' 2014-04-02 Ascobolus carbonarius P. Karst 412861.jpg, '' Ascobolus carbonarius'' dwells on burnt material Coloured Figures of English Fungi or Mushrooms - t. 18.jpg, '' Ascobolus stercorarius'':

James Sowerby James Sowerby (21 March 1757 – 25 October 1822) was an English naturalist, illustrator and mineralogist. Contributions to published works, such as '' A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland'' or '' English Botany'', include his detailed and a ...

s Coloured Figures of English Fungi or Mushrooms 2019-10-02 Saccobolus citrinus Boud. & Torrend 1097858.jpg, '' Saccobolus citrinus'' 2007-02-06 Thecotheus holmskioldii (E.C. Hansen) Eckblad 46531.jpg, '' Thecotheus holmskioldii''

References

Pezizales Ascomycota families {{Pezizomycetes-stub